Viktoria Sorochinski: When I think about Ukraine...

"When I think about Ukraine, this picture from my Lands of No-Return long-term project comes to mind. It portrays the last remains of authentic Ukrainian villages and their elderly inhabitants. I was born in Ukraine, and my grandparents lived in one of the small villages near Kiev. I remember visiting this place as a child. Those memories are filled with light and happiness. When I visited this village again for the first time after many years, I was astounded at how lifeless and miserable it looked. Those who remained there were almost exclusively the elderly. They are living out their last days; neglected by everybody, they are gradually disappearing together with their traditions and their deteriorating homes. The current military conflict between Russia and Ukraine will affect these people even more, because even before the war had begun, they were abandoned by the government, living in extremely poor conditions, without access to decent medical help or food supply. What will happen to these people and places now?

For me this series is a kind of tribute to the past. This project is the most personal of all my works because it is directly related to my grandfather and great-grandmother, who were born and who are buried in one of these villages. However, even though this project started as a personal journey, the more I worked on it, the more I realized that capturing and commemorating these people and places has a greater value. They are the last remaining evidence of the once magical and vibrant culture that will soon be known only from history books.“