When I first arrived in Ukraine at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 it was completely foreign to me. I was thrown into the breaking news of covering war, drawn instinctively to the humanitarian moments that seemed most undeserved. I had a semi-broken camera, an age-old computer, and defaulting hard drives in my bag- no conflict experience, no editorial contacts, and a small amount of borrowed money in my pocket. I sat on train station floors with refugees, chased explosions with my colleagues, and started learning everything I could about speaking Ukrainian and surviving in a warzone. That first year was incredibly profound to witness as a documentary photographer- all I could do was shoot as much as possible and let the images say the things I didn’t have the words for.
Never had I seen such grief, violence, and death. It was months of sorrow that felt compounded during the long weeks spent in Bucha, Donbas, and Kharkiv. From the trenches to the mass graves, the body of work that came from this period had glimpses of hope and victory that changed my understanding of what war could look like. I became most captivated by the aftermath stories that emerged as the frontline inched farther east.
This past year has allowed for a deeper perspective, an integration of everyday moments that seem to provide relief from the never-ending tragedy. This has always been a personal story but the approach now feels more abstract than just what war looks like- it is what surviving a war feels like. The highs and lows of constant shelling juxtaposed with the experiences we take for granted. Every photograph on this wall represents a shared history and culture embodying what Ukrainians are fighting to protect- the calmness that echoes the darkest reality of conflict. It is a persistence that Ukraine now carries in their collective push for freedom. Asking the question, what future is possible when nothing feels real? -Svet Jacqueline
Bio:
Svet Jacqueline is a documentary photographer raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Photography from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. As a child adopted from Kirov, Russia at a young age, her work focuses on the impact of trauma and displacement experienced by young adults in conflict zones. She has been working in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, documenting a war-torn country through the eyes of Ukrainian youth. She is a photo essayist in the books, Relentless Courage: Ukraine And The World At War and Ukraine: A War Crime published by Fotoevidence. All About Photo named her one of the best modern photographers in their September issue and CNN featured her as one of 12 women and nonbinary photographers capturing 2022. She lives in Kyiv working with the Wall Street Journal, Local media, Leica Camera, and Zuma Press.
www.svetjacqueline.com
svetjacqueline@gmail.com
@___svetj
Featured Image: Bucha, 2022
