Alexander Chekmenev

Alexander Chekmenev (b. 1969) has been documenting life in Ukraine since the 1990s. His work has been featured in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Guardian, and many other international newspapers and magazines. In Faces of War, he focuses on the lives of the Ukrainian people and the fate of individual members of the population in the face of the Russian war of aggression. With a profound sensitivity, Chekmenev portrays people braving the war as everyday life goes on, working in makeshift soup kitchens, seeking shelter from the ongoing attacks in subway tunnels, or actively trying to help their fellow human beings. These emotive images are taken in the dark; the photographer illuminates the faces and hands of his subjects using only a flashlight. While the shadows of war and its consequences can be glimpsed in the dark background, it is clear that Chekmenev is always concerned with the individual fate and dignity of each person.