Dymchuk Gallery presents the «Mavky. Camouflage» project by Ukrainian documentary photographer Alena Grom. The exhibition features photographs and videos that tell the story of the community of women who united to form the volunteer group for weaving camouflage nets called Horenski Mavky.
The project’s protagonists are residents of the Ukrainian village of Horenka in the Bucha district (Kyiv region). In March 2022, the town was on the front line and under constant shelling. According to the UN, 77% of the buildings in Horenka suffered destruction as a result of the Russian aggression. For the locals who witnessed the deaths and destruction, these events remain a severe trauma. The liberation of the Kyiv region gave impetus to the village rebuilding and the social restoration of the community, but the war continued. Thus, the women of Horenka organized a volunteer group called Horenski Mavky. They come from different age groups, professions, and social backgrounds but share a common goal.
The group members make nets that imitate the natural landscape and kikimory—camouflage clothing for snipers and scouts that makes the military unseen and saves lives. The need for such equipment is unceasing, so the community is constantly working to support the military. The volunteers believe that camouflage products woven with love and faith have the power of a talisman.
The main element of the exhibition is a film in which the project’s protagonists take turns creating the kikimory and share their personal experiences of war life as if weaving their episode into the overall story. In the final scene, the woman puts on a woven camouflage suit to symbolize unity, the strength to live during the war, to fight and believe.
According to Alena, the group’s name (Horenski Mavky) — is a manifestation of the community’s national identity. In the hard times, people turn to their roots, the common ground that has shaped their national identity for thousands of years. A Mavka is a creature of Ukrainian mythology that often appears in Ukrainian legends, fiction, and art; typically described as a forest girl wearing a white shirt with long green hair — an ambivalent figure on the border of the worlds of the living and the dead, considered a symbol of strength, femininity, and fiery selfless love.
«Mavky. Camouflage» by Ukrainian documentary photographer Alena Grom resonates with Andy Warhol’s famous project «Camouflage» (1986), which used the contrast between the impersonality of military patterns and the vivid individuality of a portrait. The camouflage motif appeared in the clothes that Andy Warhol created in collaboration with fashion designer Stephen Sprouse. In Alena’s opinion, camouflage, as an abstract pattern, offers many interpretations: from secrecy to bravery, from the beauty of an idyllic landscape to the nervous tension of a sniper. This allusion shows the project’s protagonists in their vulnerability and, as defenders, at the same time.
About the author:
Alena Grom is a Ukrainian artist and documentary photographer originally from Donetsk. In April 2014, Alena was forced to leave her hometown due to Russia’s occupation of eastern Ukraine, which influenced the direction of her work.
One of the main themes in the artist’s work is life despite everything. Since 2016, her attention has focused on people and places affected by Russian aggression.
Alena Grom’s projects have been on show in Ukraine, the USA, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Her work has been honored with many international photography awards and prizes. Among them:
- 2024 Fine Art Photography Award / 1st Place / Title: Photographer of the Year
- 2024 Xposure International Photography Awards / Main winner of Festival
- 2022 Tokyo International Photo Awards / Prize Gold
- 2022 International Photography Awards / «Best of Show 2022» by curator Dr. Mark Sealy
- 2022 International Photography Awards / 1st Place / Editorial
- 2022 Prix de la Photographie, Paris (PX3) / Gold in Portraiture
- 2020 COCA2020. Center on Contemporary Art / Finalist
- 2018 Slovak Press Photo / Finalist
Since 2017, she has been living in Bucha.