Stanislav Ostrous: Civilians – The Gray Zone

During military operations, many local inhabitants were able to leave their homes in the formerly occupied and strongly contested Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson. Those who remain are soldiers, doctors, rescue services, volunteers, journalists and, above all, locals who did not flee – because they were unable to find a safe place, had no resources to allow them to escape, or they simple do not want to leave. The Ukrainian photographer gave them visibility through his portraits.

People who did not flee live in the Gray Zone. They put up signs on their fences with the word “Civilians”, to let the Russian military know that they present no threat. Ostrous travelled through the Gray Zone with a group of volunteers, to help those still living in the area and to capture the reality of their lives. They distributed food packages, took lost animals to shelters and spoke with the people, whose fateful stories are sketched on their features. They all suffer: from disillusionment, post-traumatic stress disorder and humanitarian crises. Each face is unique – like Ali, who survived the Russian occupation and now lives in an abandoned chicken coop; or Lyubov, whose husband was killed in the battle for Bakhmut. She now takes care of the many dogs left behind, animals equally traumatised or at risk of starvation if they get no help.

Many houses and villages are partially or completely destroyed; the water and electricity supplies are sporadic and the businesses are closed. Ostrous accompanied the volunteers from village to village, along roads marked by war, passing burnt-out military vehicles. A wrong foot beside a road could mean stepping on a live land mine. Some areas have become inaccessible, yet people still live there. Despite the devastation, they have remained. Others returned following the liberation, using their own hands to dig out their homes from the sand, rubble and mud, and to start rebuilding. Everywhere, people in desperate need were waiting for a helping hand. The photographer’s series combines individual stories to create a complete oeuvre. His decision to photograph in black and white and analogue is more than just an aesthetic preference. In an interview, he explains that he primarily uses analogue photography so that he can ultimately verify the authenticity of his photographs using the negatives. The term Gray Zone for the region also has a metaphorical connection to the series: Ostrous believes that, since the war began, people now only see life in black and white. The picture series aims to reveal one thing above all: that this is the unfiltered reality for people, together with resistance and strength.

Ostrous’s approach is also personal, as he spent a large part of his childhood and youth in Donetsk. Later he moved to Kherson and was in Kharkiv up until the time of the Russian war of aggression. For the photographer, the project goes far beyond his Civilians – The Gray Zone series. He plans to continue using photography to document the realities and historical relevance of life in his home country under precarious war conditions. In doing so, he aims to preserve the country’s history.

Stanislav Ostrous’s series was submitted by Sergey Melnitchenko, one of this year’s group of international LOBA nominators.