A day outside the hospital

Vitalii Melnykov

What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
For the last two months I was in hospital. Finally, the doctors gave me my diagnosis: schizophrenia. I made these photographs during a free day when I was allowed to go outside, and this story came from that experience.

What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on it?
With my mind and feelings, I’m trying to return to a simpler kind of photography. I’m interested in a more documentary and lifestyle approach, focusing on everyday life and what the camera can do.

What words, ideas or emotions were running through your head?
I love expensive clothes, and I like to romanticize the stories behind my photographs. I think I do it naturally. The sea and the beach are also important elements in my work. I’m from Odesa, a port city, and I’ve always liked showing water in my pictures.

Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
While I was in the hospital, I read Matthew McConaughey’s book “Greenlights” in Spanish. I don’t understand everything yet, of course, but it felt good to read it.

What’s been the most difficult thing you’ve faced recently in your creative process?
It was difficult to accept that I have schizophrenia and that I need monthly injections and daily medication. Somehow, though, my creative process has become more relaxed and confident since then.

What is your favorite coffee shop and why do you like going there?
I usually drink coffee at home. My favourite place is the balcony, where I sit and smoke Al Capone cigarillos. Before that, it used to be cigarettes.

If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Which studios, laboratories, or workshops have you collaborated with recently or would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Yes We Scan and Carmencita Film Lab, best film labs in Europe.

Recommend an artists you follow who inspire you.
Theo Wenner.