This photography exhibition is about people who have lived through combat in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
Before you are portraits of Ukrainian veterans and active service members, combined through double exposure with personal frontline images taken on each subject’s own phone. Within these layered photographs, the inner world of the individual merges with the experience of war and the life that existed—and still exists—beyond it.
Each participant in the project was engaged in creative work before the war: music, directing, writing, embroidery. In some images, musical instruments, cameras, and other objects quietly speak of those former professions. Had it not been for the war, these paths would have continued to shape their daily choices and identities.
Returning to creativity has become a way for them to restore strength after combat. Through sound, words, movement, or pattern, they rebuild their connection to themselves, to others, and to the fragile reality of civilian life. Some images reflect a quiet grief for the creative lives interrupted by war.
The aim of the project is to draw attention to what resonates in the minds of those who have experienced war and are now adapting to a relatively peaceful society—as well as those who must continue their service, as Russia has not abandoned its attempts to occupy Ukraine in its entirety.
For years, these people have stood—and will continue to stand—as a living shield not only for their homeland, but also for Europe. The ambitions of imperial aggression extend far beyond what may seem visible at first glance; they do not end with Ukraine. For a Norwegian audience, this reality is not distant—it concerns the shared security of the European democratic community.
This project speaks to the importance of supporting the mental health of soldiers. A capable army is, first and foremost, a mentally healthy army. Healing begins where a person is allowed to remain themselves—even after the experience of war.
About Author
Nastya Konfederat is a Ukrainian photographer working in documentary and portrait art. Born in Ukraine, she developed her artistic voice during the period of social and political transformation that began in 2014—a context that has deeply shaped her work.
At the center of her photography is the human being: inner strength, vulnerability, and dignity. Her subjects are often people who took up arms to defend their homeland while maintaining a civilian artistic profession. Through portraiture, Nastya explores identity and the memory of combat experience, combining classical composition with double exposure.
This exhibition in Norway marks the beginning of a deeper dialogue between cultures—through the gaze of living individuals who chose, instead of a peaceful life, to defend their country and the democratic values of the civilized world against Russian aggression and tyranny.
Olena Maksymenko — veteran of the volunteer medical battalion “Hospitallers,” war reporter, and writer. Before the war, she wrote about art and travel. For her, it was impossible to stand aside; she understood that a country is not just about borders or government. It is about places dear to the heart and the people one longs to protect—and to be worthy of at the same time.