Hi Biйнi

Ksenia Les (1988) and Lisa Hermes (1990) studied Photography and Media at the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld. Since their graduation in 2015, they are working as freelance photographers. Several of the works were published in various German-language print media.

Although officially the Minsk protocol was signed by Russia, Ukraine and the European security organization (OSCE) in an attempt to stop fighting in East Ukraine, war continues to

rage on. Almost every week people still die in the region. Despite the agreed cease-fire, there are ongoing battles between government soldiers and the pro-Russian rebels. The situation is trapped. Economic activity continues to worsen and people are forced to leave their homes. The country is torn apart.

We set out to discover what impact this long-term conflict has on the psyche of the people for whom war has long became part of their everyday life. While researching this underrepresented topic, we found out: when talking about war, in private, public and in politics – the women’s perspective is mostly set aside. In the debate, they are displaced from the public into the private, domestic sphere. War seems to be a man‘s thing. Courage, strength and heroism are attributes traditionally associated with men.

We wanted to give those women a voice that are not heard. How does the conflict impact the traditional image of Ukrainian women; how does it influence women on a political and social level, but also in their everyday life. What dreams, desires, fears and hopes do they have? We visited soldiers' mothers and female fighters, housewives and activists, young and old women to find the answers to these questions. The women we visited are living close to the frontline on the Ukrainian territory. Some of them support the Ukrainian and some - the Russian side of the conflict.

The result is a conglomerate of intimate and personal stories from an invisible frontline in Europe.