Heart-stopping images from the war in Ukraine are coming to Cumbria next week.
“Ukraine I Miss You” has been curated by documentary photographer Stuart Clarke, who felt motivated to do something in response to the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Stuart began reaching out to photographers living in Ukraine through social media, who he has now called ‘The Magnificent 12’.
Stuart said: “I had one rule when putting together this collection, does it make me cry? Be they tears of sadness or tears of joy. The show I had in mind was not about the blood and guts of war, perhaps seen elsewhere, but rather how this horror of war is impacting on the normal everyday lives of innocent people, in our European backyard.”
Stuart added that whilst it is unclear how many of the “12” know each other, they are all ‘magnificent’ to him for their determination and resilience to survive.
The exhibition has been brought to life with the help of several University of Cumbria students and Digitalab, a professional photography lab based in the UK.
Over 55 images will be up for sale at the event with more set to be added over the coming months. All proceeds will go straight to the photographers and there will also be a ‘Response’ section of the exhibition.
Whilst the majority of the images have never been seen before, “Girl with a candy” went viral back in February
It was taken by Oleksii Kyrychenko, a CCTV engineer and part-time photographer, as he waited to go to war. It shows his 9-year-old daughter holding his spare unloaded shotgun.
The exhibition will be open on Saturday July 16 and will be hosted at Rheged.
