After her partner left for war, Elena Kalinichenko turned to photography to capture her personal conflict, documenting the emotional toll of war on those left behind. During times of war, much of the suffering remains invisible, hidden behind the everyday struggles of those left to cope. Ukrainian documentary photographer and photojournalist Elena Kalinichenko set out to reveal these hidden scars through her deeply personal project, "While most war images focus on destruction, I want to capture the internal struggles and trauma that hide behind closed doors.
" After choosing to stay in Kyiv during the invasion and later facing the loneliness and fear of her partner joining the army, Kalinichenko turned to photography as a way to process the overwhelming weight of the situation. Her haunting images, capturing herself and her family during blackouts with nothing but a flashlight, have been shortlisted for the Saltzman-Leibovitz Photography Prize, an initiative launched by and Lisa Saltzman last year. Euronews Culture spoke with Kalinichenko to discuss her creative process, the power of vulnerability in her work, and how photography can provide a path to healing.
It was the third day of the full-scale invasion. My partner and I were 30km from Kyiv, helping to build barricades. He begged me to go west to safety, but I knew I couldn’t stay still while my city was surrounded by enemy troops.
My family refused to leave Kyiv, and my brother was just 10. I couldn’t leave him behind.