Justyna Mielnikiewicz
A UKRAINE RUNS THROUGH IT ( 2004. 2008. 2014-2016 ) My story explores modern Ukraine in turmoil with the Dnieper river as a metaphor of present split in the country. It documents how the mixed ethnic and historical legacies of Ukraine brought people their present realities . Making Dnieper river...
A UKRAINE RUNS THROUGH IT
( 2004. 2008. 2014-2016 )
My story explores modern Ukraine in turmoil with the Dnieper river as a metaphor
of present split in the country. It documents how the mixed ethnic and historical
legacies of Ukraine brought people their present realities . Making Dnieper river a
symbolic line of reference allows me to talk about most important issues in wider
political, historical and geographical context of the whole country.
Since 2014 I regularly visited to Ukraine documenting lives of people along the
central Dnieper river and in those key places inland which shaped the history of
today . While working in various parts of the country, from Kiev to Donetsk and
along the river I asked people what it means to be Ukrainian , if the River is a
border or the main artery of the country and why there is a war in the East- among
other questions . Project includes the images from 2008 in Crimea and from 2004 first
Maidan Revolution- known as Orange.
The right bank lands have commonly been considered the heartland of ethnic
Ukrainian territory while the left bank was under Russia influence- but that
division is contractual . The lingua franca of eastern Ukraine is Russian while in the
western part of the country it is Ukrainian, However, in Central Ukraine and in
public space, including TV political talk-shows, people mix both languages while
speaking to each other as it was one language.
My work explores those complexities of Ukraine which lay the ground to present state building- amid the war in one part of the country
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V.Nikolayenko performing a role of the soviet Pioneer.Crimea / Print #3/9
Headless statue of V.Lenin, Dniprovka Village / Print #2/9
Two Roma Sisters Ruslana and Milana along the Dnieper River.Dnipro Print # 3/9
Right Sector training camp in Carpathian Mountains Print # 2/9
Yaroslava IDP from Donetsk in Lviv , Print # 1/9
Youth plays at the city beach on Dnieper River in Kiev , Print # 2/9
Amina Okuyeva –doctor turn soldier poses for the photo in Odessa . Print # 1/9
Horse with bullet holes on Donetsk outskirts Print # 2/9
Competition of School Dance Groups of Slavyansk and Krematorsk .Print # 1/9
Pro-Russian Rebel Sergey seats by Donetsk Airport. Print # 1/9