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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Ukraine

10th November 2011

Ukrainians… together

The metal of the factory gleams in the sun.  Around it, gathered on walkways around three steel structures and massed in the space in front, stand hundreds of workers, some in hard hats, others in lab coats or shirts and ties.  Welcome to the world of Igor Gaidai, one of Ukraine’s top photographers, who recently put on an excellent show at the “Art Arsenal” in Kyiv.

I first became aware of Igor Gaidai when a kind person gave me his book “Ukrainians at the start of the third millennium“.  It’s a sympathetic and lushly-illustrated depiction of over a hundred Ukrainian people, some famous, some not.  Some of the famous ones have changed a great deal since the photographs were taken; others, less so.  The exhibition at the Art Arsenal, which unfortunately has now closed, revolves around another project by Gaidai, “Together”, a series of special large-format photographs of groups of Ukrainians including factory workers, country villagers and church communities.  During a visit to the exhibition I have the privilege of meeting Igor Gaidai and his wife Nina, who a video shows playing a vital part in the “Together” series marshalling the subjects into what turn out to be an outstanding and in some cases moving series of pictures.  I wish them luck and look forward to further exhibitions.

Those workers, by the way, were at the “Titan” factory in Crimea.  You can see the full photoset, including pictures showing how the main photograph was taken, here.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.