The exhibition in the Polish capital brings together images of various forms of resistance, from direct warfare to grassroots social movements in Ukraine and elsewhere.
The organizers write on their website: “Refugee reports, protests, self-organization, frontline fatigue, and the devastated Ukrainian landscape remind us of the brutal conflict that has been going on next to Poland's eastern border for two years.”
Photographer and visual artist Rafał Milach, whose works are showcased at the exhibition, has described it as “a story of mobilisation, solidarity and mutual support."
He added: “Do not expect to see a new face of the war in Ukraine. Two years after it began, we have become accustomed to certain images and accounts. Now is the time to document the life that goes on on the sidelines.”
Milach worked at the Polish-Ukrainian border in the first few weeks of the Russian invasion, helping refugees, talking to them and taking photographs of them.
He stresses, however, that he is not a war photographer. "What I’m interested in are the civilian consequences of the conflict," he says.
One of Poland’s leading photographers, Milach is a member of the prestigious Magnum Photo Agency.
The artists featured at the Ukraine: Stories of Resistance exhibition include Mykhaylo Palinchak, 39, a Ukrainian street and documentary photographer currently residing and working in Kyiv.
A former official photographer of Ukraine's president, Palinchak is a co-founder of the Ukrainian Street Photography group. He is the author of the art book Maidan Faces. His works have been exhibited worldwide and are included in many museums and private collections.
On Saturday, February 24, the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, visitors to the exhibition will be able to take part in a special tour and discussion with Milach.
The exhibition runs until March 17.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 728 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(mk/gs)