As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears its fifth year, it often takes a backseat to other pressing issues of the day. British-born, Kyiv-based photographer Mark Neville has been documenting the war since 2022, and he hopes to change that with his new exhibition and fundraising project, “Postcode Ukraine: Diary of a Volunteer.” His breathtaking, gut-wrenching images put the country’s people and crisis front and center and will be on view at Westwood Contemporary, The Wende Museum’s pop-up gallery, through Sept. 30.
While the exhibition presents Ukraine under siege, its main focus is on everyday acts of resilience, care and solidarity. Neville’s quote greets visitors on the front wall of the exhibition: “The longer I spend in Ukraine, the more I realize that war is not only measured by what it destroys. It is also measured by what people refuse to surrender.”
“It’s not just about being on the front line,” Neville said. “It’s about what it does to you psychologically. I want people to connect with these ordinary people. They will see versions of themselves in this exhibition. I think the audience will fall in love with these people, just as I have.”One of the photographs, “Artem, 13 years old, at home in Cherkasy region” June 2024, is of a 13-year-old boy who found a bullet in his garden and decided to turn it into a keychain. He went to his shed, got an ax and sawed into the bullet. It exploded, and he lost three fingers and his eyesight in one eye. . . .
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Jessica Koslow 