Stolen Spring
Living in Bucha and working in Irpin after the Russian occupation, I witnessed cities turned into ruins and a militarized landscape becoming everyday reality. This project enters a historical dialogue with photographs by a Polish photographer, who masked the ruins of Warsaw with decorative backdrops in 1945–1946. The protagonists are women affected by Russian aggression. Their stolen spring symbolizes lives interrupted by war, loss, and displacement, yet also survival and hope for Ukraine’s renewal.
Bio
Alena Grom is a Ukrainian artist and documentary photographer from Donetsk. Twice displaced by war. Since 2016, her work has focused on communities affected by military aggression, documenting the lives of civilians, migrants, and refugees. Combining documentary and conceptual photography, she explores the persistence of life during wartime. Grom has exhibited internationally and is a three-time Photographer of the Year and the first photography laureate of Ukraine’s Shevchenko National Prize.
Awards
2025 PHOTO OXFORD / Grand prize;
2024 Fine Art Photography Awards/ Professional Photographer of the Year-The main prize;
2024 LensCulture Portrait Awards United Kingdom / Finalist;
2024 Siena Creative Photo Awards / Siena. Italy /First place;
2024 Xposure International Photography Awards / The main winner of the festival;
2024 L.A. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards — ‘Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet’ /PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR;
2023 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN IN PHOTO AWARD / Finalist;
2022 Tokyo International Foto Awards / Prize Gold;
2022 International Photography Awards / 1st Place;
2022 Prix ??de la Photographie, Paris (PX3) / Gold in Portraiture;
2023 Photometria Awards. Judged by Martin Parr/1st place;
