From the start of the war in Ukraine in 2014, Polish photographer Wiktoria Wojciechowska – winner of the 2018 Madame Figaro–Arles Photo Prize – took portraits and made poignant videos of amateur soldiers who went into battle.
In the trenches, the industrial landscapes of the Donbass or at home on leave, around fifty men, between the ages of 18 and 37, posed in front of his lens, transmitting images of the conflict that was already taking place there, and their own vulnerability. .
A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, the photographer has brought together all these images in a work entitled
Sparks,
the culmination of years of work that sketches the impact of conflict on lives.
Read alsoWiktoria Wojciechowska, the photographer who captures the aura of her models
Madame Figaro
.– Why this work?
Wiktoria Wojciechowska.–
I was born in Eastern Poland.
As a child, I spent all my vacations in Ukraine.
I have many friends there, I am close to this country.
I was 24 when the war started, in 2014: I wanted to show what these soldiers and their families were going through.
The photo was a way to capture the expression on their faces, of fear.
The men are not soldiers, but civilians whose destiny was not to end up in the trenches.
Full screen
In the
Sparks
series , Wiktoria Wojciechowska photographed young amateur soldiers who went to war in the Donbass in 2014. Wiktoria Wojciechowska
Have you kept in contact with them?
Yes, I hear from them regularly via Facebook and speak with their family.
Most of the faces in the photos are those of men currently engaged on the Ukrainian front: Kolyan, high school student, Chawa, philosopher, Andriy, astronomer, Garry, DJ… all had to leave their jobs, their families.
What do you want to convey through these photos?
The settings of
Sparks
are the real places described by the soldiers: front lines, trenches, ruined houses.
Residents who live near these lines call the missile shrapnel "sparks."
When they see a hail of sparks approaching, they have no time to find shelter.
These sparks pierce their homes in a rain of death and fear.
I wanted to show these sparks through eyes that have seen them.
Portfolio Wiktoria Wojciechowska
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow08 photos
See the slideshow08 photos
Can art transform a look into a concrete action?
I was in Ukraine until November, for an exhibition of these photos in Lviv.
The purpose of art is to raise awareness.
These soldiers need medical equipment, bulletproof jackets… I work with organizations (1) that come to their aid and support the population.
Art is a powerful vector of human values.
(1) Vostok SOS humanitarian organization, which supports the civilian population: vostok-sos.org/.../ukraine-under-fire-support.
Instagram: @wiktoria_w