WARscapes

On February 24, 2022, the troops of the Russian Federation attacked Ukraine. From that day, the most important military conflict since the World War II takes place just outside the boarders of my country. The conflict which, from its very beginning, has been shaping the geopolitics of not only region, but also the whole world. This war also shapes the space of Ukraine itself. My project focuses on documenting this process.

I found myself in Ukraine for the first time at the beginning of March 2022. I came to Lviv from Medyka (Poland), where I worked on the Polish-Ukrainian border as a volunteer during the first three weeks of the war. At the very beginning, I dealt with typical topics arising from the need to provide "news" stories. But rather quickly, I decided to take a few steps back from typical events and focus on the broader context. I started looking for answers to the questions - how does war change the space of the country it affects? How does it change its public space? How does the concept of territoriality translate into real changes in the landscape? How does the struggle for space affect it, but also the adjacent areas?

While working as a volunteer at the border crossing in Medyka, I realized that every day there is some change, deconstruction or construction of space, caused by the ongoing war. I decided to live in Ukraine to broaden my cognitive horizon. My further observation and perception were not possible without changing my position as an observer. I believe that by documenting "news" situations from a greater distance, introducing "out-of-frame" elements and often photographing with my back to the front line, I deepen the image of the war and increase its documentary capacity.

The archive I am working on now has several hundred photos. I would like to continue my work until the end of the war, but also after it. The photos attached here were taken all over Ukraine in the period between March and September 2022.