Poptrans (a popular transformation) is an artistic group founded in Uzhhorod in 1996 by artists Pavlo Kovach, Vadim Harabaruk, Andriy Stegura, Robert Saller and Petro Penzel. Today the group also includes Natasha Shevchenko and Viktor Pokydanets, while Petro Penzel left the team.
United by a common ideological and aesthetic programme the group members keep individual authorships and follow their own practices, while the Poptrans naming is a shared title for their joint exhibitions, texts, samvydav (self-publishing) publications and magazines.
The distinctive features of the collective’s practice, according to their own words, are based on “everything that is fancy in Transcarpathian-style: familiar uniqueness and digital tradition, unlimited multiculturalism and auto-xenophobia, silly snicker and deep philosophical studies, friendly comfort and solemn pathos." However, besides the actual spirit of Carpathians, the programme of Poptrans is marked with an outspoken interest in popular culture, from glossy magazines and Mexican soap operas of 1990’s to punk rock, vinyl records and the genuine American pop art traditions of the 1960’s.