Having worked several times in war zones in the past, I have always had a special appreciation for those people who remain in their homes during the bombings. Throughout the 3rd and 4rth week of the war in Ukraine, I stayed in Kiev with people of different classes and backgrounds in their homes during the night curfew. I wanted to approach their stories and how they reconstruct the big picture. I photographed and interviewed them in their personal spaces in an attempt to illuminate their collective and individual trauma.
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, I had very serious doubts about whether I wanted to cover it.
A week later - and while everyone was waiting to see the Russian army take Kiev - I realised that this is the first war in Europe and the first war in the 21st century without any ideological bias - that is, it is clearly geopolitical.
When history is written, people's stories are lost. The big agencies and TV networks focus on the war zones, the shelters, the stream of refugees - the “hot” news. The big picture that one sees in a crisis, a disaster, a war is likely generic, perhaps even stereotypical - and it certainly does not delve into people's lives.
I wanted to approach people's stories and how they reconstruct the big picture. I'm interested in understanding how war has turned their lives upside down, how they think, what they want, what they fear. To illuminate their collective and individual trauma.
Having worked several times in war zones in the past, I have always had a special appreciation for those people who remain in their homes during the bombings. In Kiev, media representatives accredited to the Ministry of Military Affairs have autonomy in their movements and choose where to go themselves - except during curfew hours. I went to the east side and the west side of the Dnieper, to three different apartment buildings representing three different historical periods: the tsarist, socialist and independence periods.
I met people of all social groups and classes. One introduced me to the other and for 15 days we lived together - I did not just watch as an observer who comes, takes pictures and leaves. The shots were taken inside these peoples homes during the overnight curfew and air-raid sirens. They shared their food, their home and their thoughts with me.
This is their voice.
If I receive the award, I am going to use the money to return to Kiev and photograph the same people after the war. This time I am going to portrait them outdoors, under the natural light and interview them again to discover how the trauma of war has changed their life and beliefs.
