Pride and… pain. Army as seen by the heart is being presented in Uzhgorod (PHOTOS)

No living person can look at these photos indifferently. You feel pain looking at them. But also pride…

Two magnificent photo projects about the modern Ukrainian army have been brought to Uzhgorod. Photo exhibition "MY ARMY. See with your heart" and a photo book ".RAW. History of Changes of Ukrainians and the Army" were presented in the "Owl’s Nest" on the Day of the Defender of Ukraine.

Both magnificent photo events are part of the project of the Ministry of Defense "Army. The second birth" initiated with the support of the Strategic Communications Center "StratCom Ukraine". But, despite the involvement of such an official organization, there is zero officialism, no fake pathos and pseudo-heroics, which sometimes can be found in such projects. Everything is genuine and powerful. 

The curators explain the difference in the concepts of two projects. The exhibition "MY ARMY. See with your heart" consists of the photos that, mostly (with rare exceptions), were taken by combatants or volunteers themselves during the service on their own mobile phones or cameras. And the photobook is made exclusively by professional photojournalists, who have been in hot spots of the world and Ukraine, from the Maidan to the war in the Donbas: in Ilovaysk, Debaltseve, Pisky, at the Butivka mine. Photos from both of these projects are presented in Uzhgorod, in the gallery of the "Owl’s Nest".

The exhibition in Uzhgorod features mostly the works of leading Ukrainian photographers, who work in the war zone and react to the war not only as journalists and documentaries but also as citizens, as Ukrainians. Four of them came to Uzhgorod to tell the stories behind the photographs: Oleksandr Glyadelov, Serhiy Morgunov, Max Levin and Yulia Kochetova. By the way, Max also presented a multimedia project from the front, and Yulia presented her film, as the opening took place within the framework of the travelling festival of documentary films DOCUDAYS UA, which continues in Uzhgorod. The stories told by these special witnesses are living, interesting and… horrible. Behind each photo, there are fates of many people. And some heroes, unfortunately, can now be seen only in the photos; one of the authors – Viktor Hurnyak – also was killed on the war… The exhibition will continue in the "Owl’s Nest" gallery until October 27, entrance is free, and this event should not be overlooked.