Black Earth; Chornozem
Lesia Serdiuka Street, Saltivka, Kharkiv, Ukraine: 14 April 2025
As a visual artist and educator based in Manchester, my practice has long been rooted in exploring the impact of conflict and occupation through portraiture and historical narratives.
Since autumn 2024, I have been working closely with a growing community of young, displaced Ukrainian students now living in Manchester and studying at The Manchester College. Their stories of loss, resilience, and survival are powerful, yet largely undocumented. Through painting, photography, film, interviews and the collection and catagarisation of found material I am capturing their experiences of fear, loss, resilience, and hope. And at the same time challenging the media’s fleeting attention span and the illusion of geopolitical detachment.
This project is both personal and political. It is a response to the silence that often surrounds trauma, and a call to see beyond borders. My recent trip to Ukraine in April 2025 deepened this commitment, documenting the impact of war on Ukraine’s population, built environment & landscape. Whilst there I witnessed the war first hand on the Donetsk Kharkiv Border and spoke at length with members of the armed forces as well making contact with institutions, including the Yermilov Centre in Kharkiv.
Art cannot undo conflict, but it can preserve memory, foster empathy, and amplify voices that must be heard.
Since autumn 2024, I have been working closely with a growing community of young, displaced Ukrainian students now living in Manchester and studying at The Manchester College. Their stories of loss, resilience, and survival are powerful, yet largely undocumented. Through painting, photography, film, interviews and the collection and catagarisation of found material I am capturing their experiences of fear, loss, resilience, and hope. And at the same time challenging the media’s fleeting attention span and the illusion of geopolitical detachment.
This project is both personal and political. It is a response to the silence that often surrounds trauma, and a call to see beyond borders. My recent trip to Ukraine in April 2025 deepened this commitment, documenting the impact of war on Ukraine’s population, built environment & landscape. Whilst there I witnessed the war first hand on the Donetsk Kharkiv Border and spoke at length with members of the armed forces as well making contact with institutions, including the Yermilov Centre in Kharkiv.
Art cannot undo conflict, but it can preserve memory, foster empathy, and amplify voices that must be heard.