“Do Not Worry, I Am Fine”… / Family Photoshoots For The Refugees

• Prize
  Silver in Editorial/Photo Essay
• Photographer
  Maryna Syrovatka
• Photo Date
  2022

After the war started, I could not hold my camera for a while. The world shuttered; the system of values became compromised. In the attempt to support people fleeing from war, I opened to doors of my studio to the Ukrainian refugees. The emotions were so much on the edge, the uncertainty and loneliness was so overwhelming that family shoots revealed a new meaning and importance. There was a need to document the moment as a further reference point, probably to send a message home: “I am here. I am alive. I think I am fine…” Once they will take out the family album and recall these days.

Maryna Syrovatka is a Ukrainian lens based artist currently living in Slovakia. In her stories, she explores personal transformations in the life-changing situations or under circumstances beyond one’s control. Her diverse educational and career background inevitably influences her choice of topics and approach to their development.