DONE IN LOVE

PAVIEŁ HANČAR

// Pavieł is based in Minsk, Belarus. He enjoys finding the beautiful and uplifting where it is not visible at first glance. This he considers his calling, approaching life with an open lens and heart. Pavieł shared a series on the Belarusian artist Jaraš Mališeūski and his wife Aksana Sprynčan, a writer and poet.

In his working life Pavieł heads an IT company. “In business I try to do the same as in my photography, focusing on people and their willingness to do their best. Leaders, as well as artists, just help an audience to go according to their vision. So, I don’t see a big difference between these jobs.”

Pavieł´s favourite humanist photographer is Edouard Boubat, a French photojournalist and art photographer. He explained the nature of photography, in a way that resonates with Pavieł every time he looks at the world through his camera rangefinder. Boubat said “There is something instinctive about the moment you choose to take a photograph. It’s not the result of thought or reflection. The strength of the composition is always born of the instant of the decision. It reminds me of archery. There is the tension of the bow and the free flight of the arrow.”

What draws you to the arts?

“I feel that my vocation is to show the beauty of this world to people. I ain’t kidding. “ 

What impresses you most about the Belarusian artist couple you visited?

“I personally don’t always manage to do what I love, and sometimes for the sake of earnings I compromise. But these two brave persons have made their dream their profession and preserve the beauty of our land, despite all obstacles.“

Pavieł visited the Belarusian artist couple Jaraš and Aksana at their “home museum” in Minsk, Belarus. Jaraš Mališeūski (Яраш Малішэўскі) is a Belarusian musician, historian, collector, and folklorist. His wife Aksana Sprynčan (Аксана Спрынчан) is a writer and poet. “When my daughter was a baby girl, I read her before bed a book written by Aksana,” Pavieł tells us.

Jaraš is well known in Belarus as a musician, and his current project is to preserve the traditional Belarusian folk music with the folk band “Astroūna“. If you visit the link you can watch and listen to several songs, accompanied by traditional instruments such as the ones shown in Paviel´s photos. They include, among others, the mandolin, a hurdy-gurdy type instrument (in Belarusian “kolavaja lira”), and a local variant on bagpipes, called “duda“. These instruments are widely used in folk music since the Middle Ages.

Applause is due to this dedicated artist couple for their efforts in preserving the cultural heritage of Belarus — and applause to Pavieł for his documentary photography, because it is done in love.

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Images may be cropped for layout. Click on the photos to see the full image.

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ALL PHOTOS © PAVIEŁ  HANČAR

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To see more of his photography visit Pavieł´s Instagram page.