Congregation (1970)

After graduating from art school, Yuriy Zmorovych, who had just turned 23, was hired by the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life, better known as Pirogovo. Today, it is a huge open-air complex located on the outskirts of Kyiv — a valuable place if you are interested in rural huts, ancient churches, mills, and folk art. Zmorovych arrived there when there was absolutely nothing in Pirogovo. He was lucky with his job: he got to go on expeditions to villages, searching for ancient icons, paintings, and household items. And larger-scale items—primarily wooden churches. Workers would come for them, carefully dismantle the buildings piece by piece, transport them to Kyiv, and then restore the structures to their original form. Zmorovych managed to see another side to this process.