Courage & terror: Photography exhibition on Ukraine War shown in Parliament after being curated in Hull
WARNING: Contains distressing images
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
A moving and disturbing photography exhibition on the war in Ukraine is to be hosted in the House of Commons next week after opening at the University of Hull last year.
Called Ukraine: The Price of Freedom, it features pictures by some of the world’s leading war photographers and will be shown in the Upper Waiting Hall of the House of Commons, from February 17 to 22, close to the second anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion.
The London staging of the exhibition is sponsored by Hull North MP Dame Diana Johnson, who describes it as, “a very powerful reminder of the human cost of this war”.
It is a reduced version of the collection shown in the university’s art gallery between July and September last year.
The exhibition seeks to illustrate, alongside the horror of the war, the valour and unshakeable spirit of the Ukrainian people in the face of death and destruction.
It features the work of Ukrainian and international prize-winning photographers, including: Evgen Maloletka (two Pulitzer Prizes and Guardian Photographer of the year, 2023); Sergiy Korovainy (James Foley Award for Conflict Coverage 2022); Dmytro Kozatsky (The Prix de Photographie Paris 2022); and Rodrigo Abd (Pulitzer Prizes 2013, 2023).
The photographs show the devastation of the Russian occupation of Mariupol and the heroic resistance of the defenders of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, as well as the ruins of Mariupol University (twinned with Hull University).
There are also images of the large scale battle for Bakhmut; the tragic impact of the environmental catastrophe following Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023; as well as memorable portraits of Ukrainian soldiers, doctors, and firefighters in the dramatic moments of their military and everyday life.
The project of bringing the collection to the Commons has been led by Chris Awre, the University Librarian. The exhibition has been curated by John Bernasconi, Director of the University Art Collection, in close cooperation with Olena Hatton, a Ukrainian writer and journalist, and an extensive team from both inside and outside the university.
Mr Bernasconi said: “It is a great privilege to be able to bring this exhibition to the House of Commons, recording the Ukraine war through the work of some of the world’s leading war photographers.
“These striking and often moving images show the horror and destruction of the conflict alongside inspiring scenes of courage and hope. Among the vast media coverage of the invasion, these photographs are probably the images that will remain longest in our minds.”
The exhibition partner is the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation (Ukraine).
You can read The Hull Story’s review of the exhibition when it was staged in Hull here.
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