Faces of War: Alexander Chekmenev

Alexander Chekmenev (b. 1969) has been documenting life in Ukraine since the 1990s. His work has been featured in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Guardian, and many other international newspapers and magazines. In Faces of War, he focuses on the lives of the Ukrainian people and the fate of individual members of the population in the face of the Russian war of aggression. With a profound sensitivity, Chekmenev portrays people braving the war as everyday life goes on, working in makeshift soup kitchens, seeking shelter from the ongoing attacks in subway tunnels, or actively trying to help their fellow human beings. These emotive images are taken in the dark; the photographer illuminates the faces and hands of his subjects using only a flashlight. While one can sense the war and its effects in the dark background, the lighting brings to the fore what is most important to the photographer: “For me, the people always come first. The country is made up of people, and I want to make visible each and every one of them and honor them through my photographs” says Alexander Chekmenev. AUTHOR: Alexander Chekmenev (*1969) started his career in 1988 as an apprentice photographer in a studio in his home city of Luhansk. He began photographing people on the streets and in their homes to show the devastating effects of the economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In particular, his work gave an intimate and unique perspective on the turmoil caused to the Donbas mining industry as Ukraine underwent significant social and political upheaval. He moved to Kyiv in 1997, where he still works today as a photojournalist, using the medium to document the progress made and the challenges faced by his country and its people through peacetime, revolutions and war. Chekmenev's work has been internationally published in The New York Times, The Guardian, TIME Magazine and others. SELLING POINTS: . A testimony to the disturbing event in the history of Ukraine, world history and politics and a tribute to the people who cope with the war situation in everyday life . The sixth publication in the work of the well-known photojournalist, who has documented the developments of his home country, Ukraine, and its population in times of peace, revolutions and wars 81 colour, 28 b/w illustrations

About the Author :

Alexander Chekmenev (*1969) started his career in 1988 as an apprentice photographer in a studio in his home city of Luhansk. He began photographing people on the streets and in their homes to show the devastating effects of the economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In particular, his work gave an intimate and unique perspective on the turmoil caused to the Donbas mining industry as Ukraine underwent significant social and political upheaval. He moved to Kyiv in 1997, where he still works today as a photojournalist, using the medium to document the progress made and the challenges faced by his country and its people through peacetime, revolutions and war. Chekmenev’s work has been internationally published in The New York Times, The Guardian, TIME Magazine and others.