Ukrainian Photographer Joins International "Dream Project" by Annie Leibovitz for IKEA
Ukrainian photographer Olena Kalinichenko has become one of the participants in a dream project about family life by IKEA and American celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. This was reported by The Guardian.
Annie Leibovitz, a world-renowned celebrity photographer whose portraits have graced the covers of high-end glossies from Vogue to Vanity Fair, has announced that her latest collaboration will be with Ikea.
As part of the project, Leibovitz travelled to seven countries, documenting the family's different perceptions and visions. She described the role as "a dream project for someone like me".
As a result, she created twenty photographs that were presented at Paris Fashion Week. The exhibition will be open to the public until 3 March.
In addition to her own photographs, Leibovitz also selected the works of six of her students, whom she helped to create their own projects about home.
They range from Price Hassan in Nigeria, who photographed her best friend's house, to Tom Hurduk in Romania, who documented his partner and their dog.
Particularly striking is the work of 25-year-old Ukrainian photographer Olena Kalinichenko, who lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her images show a friend standing next to the ruins of what used to be her home and a sign for a bomb shelter.
"Everyone thinks that home is a safe place to go to rest and where you know it is yours. But we know that it can be taken away in a second, and it is no longer safe. That's what I wanted to achieve," comments the Ukrainian.
In July 2022, Annie Leibovitz visited Ukraine and photographed First Lady Olena Zelenska for American Vogue, as well as met with Ukrainian photographers.
Annie Leibovitz started her career as a photographer in the early 70s, shooting photos for Rolling Stone. She says she is still fulfilled and passionate about what she does, even in her mid-70s. "One of the things that doesn't get talked about a lot is that it gets a lot more interesting being older," she says. "You know what you're doing."