Portrait of a Village

This remote Ukrainian village was home to my ancestors for nearly a century. I was the first of my family to return since their exile, stepping into a place that had long existed only in stories. The landscape felt familiar. The vast steppe reminded me of the Lincolnshire fens, where my grandfather finally settled and where I called home.

Visiting Ukraine was an emotional experience. My great-grandparents were captured in this village and sent to a gulag in Siberia before being transported to a forced labour camp in Tajikistan. They did not escape until the 1960s. My grandfather, after witnessing his uncle’s execution at the hands of invading Nazis, was sent to fight on the frontlines of Stalingrad for a country he had never set foot in.

At first, I was apprehensive about visiting a place with such a painful history. But what I found was the warmth of the Ukrainian people who now called this village home. Their hospitality was overwhelming, a testament to resilience and the enduring nature of community. In 2019, I saw a village at peace, full of colour, with a thriving school and children at its heart. That fragile peace has since been shattered by war once again.

Through this series, I reflect on the weight of history, the ties of ancestry, and the cyclical nature of conflict and displacement. Yet, above all, this work is a tribute to the Ukrainian people. It is for those who have been lost, those who remain, and the generations still to come.

The project was nominated for the Sheffield International Film Festival and awarded Silver in the Project catagory at the Association of Photography Awards.




Directed and Shot By Catherine Losing
Editor - Lindsay Watson
Sound Design - Matt Waites
Location Sound - Ben Walker
Grade - Peter Oppersdorff, MPC London

In Association With The Museum of Modern Art Odesa and British Council Ukraine

Special Thanks To: 
Natalia Revko
Vova Chigrinets
Tsybulivka School