Ukrainian Becomes Photographer of the Year According to LA Photo Curator
The jury of the Los Angeles Photo Curator has named Ukrainian artist Alyona Grom the winner of the Photographer of the Year 2024 competition for her work Alyona from the Stolen Spring series, the LA Photo Curator reports on its website.
Alyona Grom is a Ukrainian artist and documentary photographer born in Donetsk. In April 2014, she had to leave her hometown because of the war in eastern Ukraine. Since 2017, she has been living in Bucha, near Kyiv. After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Alyona and her family became refugees for the second time, but returned after Bucha was liberated.
According to the Los Angeles Photo Curator, this experience had a significant impact on Alyona: photography became her way of escape. Since 2016, she has been working in areas affected by military aggression, capturing the lives of war victims, migrants and refugees. Alyona combines social reporting with conceptual photography, often creating series on the frontline. Her mission is to document the lives of people caught in the ‘grey zones’ or in the vicinity of military conflicts, as well as to inform the world about the difficulties of living in times of war.
Alyona's project Stolen Spring tells the story of women from the towns near Kyiv - Irpin, Borodyanka and Hostomel - who became victims of Russian aggression and lost not only their homes, loved ones, jobs and health, but also part of their lives. ‘The occupation continued in the spring, and the people who survived this tragic period did not notice how spring passed, how chestnuts and lilies of the valley bloomed, and birds arrived. They were deprived not only of their homes, loved ones, jobs and health, but also of a part of their lives. This is the second tragic spring for IDPs from Donbas and Crimea. A stolen spring is a stolen life. Each photo is a personal tragedy, but it is also a life-affirming story of a survivor, a hope that Ukraine will rise from the ruins,’ said Alyona Grom.
Alyona Grom created the Stolen Spring series by studying the works of Polish photographer Michael Nash, who in 1945-1946 used a decorative background to hide the ruins of Warsaw after World War II. Los Angeles Photo Curator has published a photo of one of the protagonists of the series - Alyona, a resident of Irpin. She stayed at home during the first weeks of the Russian offensive and left the city on foot with her son and her wheelchair-bound mother. When Irpin was liberated, Alena returned to find the city devastated - 71% of the buildings had been destroyed. Alena's house was also damaged by the fighting.