LOCATION: Outdoor exhibition by Artillerigatan / Vengatan MAP
On Thursday, February 24, 2022, Ukraine was attacked by Russia. When the first year of the war came to an end, Time magazine unsurprisingly named President Volodymyr Zelensky its “Person of the Year.” Zelensky had already appeared on the magazine’s cover in May, gazing forward with a visionary look. Towards fate? Towards Europe?
The photographer behind that cover was Ukrainian Alexander Chekmenev. The fourteen photographs in this exhibition are also his. They do not portray Ukraine’s leaders – though interpretation is always open – nor do they depict mythical heroes. They show ordinary people: farmers, business owners, teachers, doctors… The aggressors try to isolate/separate?? them, to break them down, yet they endure.
War forces people to summon a profound, deeply rooted courage, an inner strength that rises from the farthest corners of their being. The lines and wrinkles on their faces tell not only of the passage of time but also of the price of war. They are visible in both young and old. Sometimes, a scar. Those who look closely can even discern the invisible ones.
Chekmenev’s photographs do more than document suffering – they capture resilience. Across cities and villages in Ukraine, people stand firm, refusing to be erased. Each image is accompanied by a brief, thought-provoking comment, by or about the person: “We kept a diary. We wrote on the walls how many days we survived and how many people died…”
Born in 1969 in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, Alexander Chekmenev began his photographic career in 1988. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he documented economic crises and unrest in the Donbas region. In 1997, he moved to Kyiv, where he continues to work as a photojournalist, capturing Ukraine’s struggles through peacetime, revolution, and war. His work has appeared in leading international publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and Time Magazine.
© Alexander Checkmenev