UKRAINE
Maxim Dondyuk
Maxim Dondyuk (b. 1983) is a Ukrainian photographer and artist whose practice integrates various mediums, including photography, video, text, and archival materials. His work delves into themes of history, memory, conflict, and their enduring consequences.
Maxim has been widely awarded numerous recognitions including the recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, International Photographer of the Year in Lucie Awards, finalist of the Prix Pictet Photography Prize, Magnum Photos competition ‘30 under 30’ for emerging documentary photographers. His work has been exhibited internationally, at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, Somerset House in London, MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome, the House of Lucie in Budapest, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva, L’Arsenal in Bastia, among others.
In 2019 he published the monograph ‘Culture of Confrontation’.
PROJECT
Battleground
The series ‘Battleground’ documents the endless brutal atrocities of war.
Approaching the frontline, one encounters a solemn landscape that bears witness to the profound impact of war. The aftermath is a haunting tableau of destruction and desolation—crumbling structures, shattered windows, and scarred terrain. Nature itself mourns, with trees carrying shrapnel scars, and once-lush fields now fallow under the weight of military tumult.
The photographs below reveal Ukraine’s territories scarred by shelling and bloody conflicts since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Each image encapsulates a paradoxical beauty and horror, a visual testament to the coexistence of destruction and resilience.
War devastates everything. It cripples human souls and bodies, dismantles buildings and scars the very essence of nature. There are no winners, all that remains are destruction, pain, and suffering. A haunting footprint is left on everything it touches, an indelible mark etched into the fabric of time, reminding us of the collective toll borne by humanity in times of conflict.
