We have all met a young man like Daniil Melnyk, this open-faced, sunny 21-year-old with a disarming grin. As soon as he walks into the studio, in a former factory in Lviv in western Ukraine, the chat and jokes begin. Melnyk is used to being here. He has been photographed several times by the artist Marta Syrko. But he’s less used to having an audience in the room. As soon as everyone has introduced themselves, he and Syrko get to work. First, he pulls off his sweatshirt and trousers, revealing the heavily tattooed body of a young soldier. Then he removes his prosthetic legs: he has had two below-the-knee amputations. He lacks three of the fingers of his right hand.
Syrko has asked him to position himself on a sheet of reflective metal. She surveys him from different angles, suggesting adjustments to his pose. At one point, she photographs him through a mirror – the resulting images will have a mysterious, slightly subaqueous feel. Julia Kochetova, the Observer photographer, darts around, capturing the whole process. Throughout, the conversation flows. Melnyk teases Syrko: “You’re like my teacher at school. But I can’t sit still!”
