Occupied / Unoccupied — Museum of East Dorset

Occupied / Unoccupied contrasts photographs of a family living under Russian occupation in Ukraine with their new life in Dorset, exploring war, displacement, survival, memory and the rebuilding of home.

Occupied / Unoccupied is a solo photography exhibition by Ukrainian photographer Iryna Sozanska, presented at the Museum of East Dorset in Wimborne.

The exhibition brings together photographs taken during the Russian occupation of Iryna's hometown of Hostomel in the Kyiv region in 2022 with images of her family’s new life in Dorset after being forced to leave Ukraine.

Originally taken as personal family photographs, the images document everyday life under occupation: children sheltering behind a mattress during an attack, taped windows, smoke-filled skies, cooking without electricity or gas, evacuation, and small domestic moments that took on a completely different meaning during war.

These photographs are presented alongside peaceful images made in Dorset. Children walking during the occupation are contrasted with the same children walking freely in the English countryside; threatening skies are placed alongside peaceful ones. Through these visual parallels, the exhibition explores not only war and displacement, but what comes afterwards — adapting to a new country, growing up, finding safety and gradually rebuilding a sense of home.

Alongside the photographs, the exhibition includes personal objects connected to the family’s experience and journey, a short film documenting the first days of the full-scale invasion, and a masking-tape installation based on the mangal the family used during the occupation to cook food, boil water and make coffee.

Visitors are also invited to respond to the exhibition. One described it as “very cleverly & powerfully” communicated, saying that it helps others “understand & feel what people are going through.” Another wrote: “You and your family are so brave, and showing what you have been through is very humbling.”

The exhibition opened on 20 June 2026 and was originally scheduled to close on 26 September. Following its positive reception, the Museum of East Dorset extended the exhibition for almost five additional months, until 13 February 2027.

Occupied / Unoccupied reflects on war, displacement, childhood and family, but also on resilience, safety and the possibility of rebuilding an ordinary life after everything familiar has changed.