Sunflowers Will Still Grow
Concept: Sunflowers Will Still Grow is a multimedia art project to document the cultural stories of Ukrainian refugees who fled to Gummersbach after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The title draws on the fact that sunflowers have been used as a symbol of peace throughout Ukraine's history, and are its national flower!
The UNHCR termed this as one of the largest human displacement crises in the world, with 13+ million Ukrainians fleeing their homes.
It is important to document this time to understand how Ukrainian people lived through Europe's worst refugee crisis since WWII. It will serve as an important visual evidence in the history of human culture and migration.
Process: When Russia invaded Ukraine, Saurabh’s first thought was to cover the war, but instead, he decided to make portraits of his new neighbours from Kyiv. He soon collaborated with a Ukrainian writer Anastasiia. Together, they visit families and conduct interviews. They simply sit and listen to the stories of Ukrainians focused on their culture and integration. Sometimes with and sometimes without the camera!
Team: Anastasiia Reshetnyk is an 18-year-old Ukrainian refugee. She is studying journalism and is proficient in 3 languages: Ukrainian, Russian, and English. She is lead on writing part of this project. Saurabh Narang is an award-winning Indian visual storyteller based in Gummersbach. He is lead on visual part of this project.
"Tomorrow, I am going back to Ukraine to reunite with my husband after almost 5 months. He has been working to rebuild a village near Kyiv which was bombed and impacted more than 70 families. I can't wait to join him to restore Ukraine now." - Nataliia Dekhtiarenko
" class="grid-item animation-item js-grid-item u40808-images-border js-get-resized-image_2555206" data-srcsetxx="https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-642938-dscf6781.jpg 1200w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-642938-dscf6781.jpg 1440w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-642938-dscf6781.jpg 2048w" style="background-color:#b3694b">"We have been in Germany for almost 9 months. I really want to go home. Here we are trying to learn the German language, and it seems rather difficult to us. We raise children and also try to teach them the language. So far, it's not working out well, because the one who is 3 years old is still very small, and the one who is 6 years old has difficulty even speaking his native language because he has alalia. So a lot of energy goes into it." -Kateryna Mayska
" class="grid-item animation-item js-grid-item u40808-images-border js-get-resized-image_2555206" data-srcsetxx="https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-989723-dscf6716.jpg 1200w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-989723-dscf6716.jpg 1440w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-989723-dscf6716.jpg 2048w" style="background-color:#bf593f">"We have been in Germany for almost 9 months. I really want to go home. Here we are trying to learn the German language, and it seems rather difficult to us. We raise children and also try to teach them the language. So far, it's not working out well, because the one who is 3 years old is still very small, and the one who is 6 years old has difficulty even speaking his native language because he has alalia. So a lot of energy goes into it." -Kateryna Mayska
" class="grid-item animation-item js-grid-item u40808-images-border js-get-resized-image_2555206" data-srcsetxx="https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-358876-dscf6727.jpg 1200w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-358876-dscf6727.jpg 1440w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-358876-dscf6727.jpg 2048w" style="background-color:#b96d45">Martial law has been imposed in Ukraine since February 24, 2022, which bans most Ukrainian men ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country, in anticipation that they may be called to fight.
Bolshakov's family left everything behind in Kyiv when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022. From waking up to the sounds of gunfire to hiding in bomb shelters, they took a long road towards Romania before finally finding safe havens in the German countryside of Oberberg. Currently, they are living in two states of mind: to stay here or go back to Kyiv. However, they are grateful for all the support provided by the German government and are making efforts to integrate and learn the German language. (Germany, 18-May-2022)
" class="grid-item animation-item js-grid-item u40808-images-border js-get-resized-image_2555206" data-srcsetxx="https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-469713-dscf6677.jpg 1200w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-469713-dscf6677.jpg 1440w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766928-469713-dscf6677.jpg 2048w" style="background-color:#cc5733">"One of my favorite games as a kid was the game "Cossack>Robbers". Its rules were: the players were divided into two teams, the cossacks, and the robbers. The robbers had to run away, and the cossacks had to catch them. When the robbers were caught, cossacks had to take them to a place, where, according to the canons of the game, that place was considered a prison. Justice was always to prevail, and all the bandits had to be caught." - Roman
" class="grid-item animation-item js-grid-item u40808-images-border js-get-resized-image_2555206" data-srcsetxx="https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-697149-dscf6849.jpg 1200w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-697149-dscf6849.jpg 1440w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-697149-dscf6849.jpg 2048w" style="background-color:#b24c4c">"It seems to me that the most beautiful thing in Ukraine is the language because it is melodic. I really like it when people speak Ukrainian." - Diana
" class="grid-item animation-item js-grid-item u40808-images-border js-get-resized-image_2555206" data-srcsetxx="https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-220074-dscf6827.jpg 1200w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-220074-dscf6827.jpg 1440w, https://s3-img.pixpa.com/com/large/40808/1679766929-220074-dscf6827.jpg 2048w" style="background-color:#6c3c34">Video Portraits > Interviews
Selected Recognitions...
Awards, exhibitions and features:
- Awarded MANUFACTUM STAATSPREIS NRW 2023 in IMAGE + PRINT MEDIA category
- Exhibition in MAKK, Museum for Applied Arts in Cologne, Germany from 27.05 to 13.08
- Exhibited at the Film 2023 by LCB Depot in Leicester, United Kingdom as part of the FORMAT International Photography Festival
- Featured by the European Parliament as an ambassador for their European Youth Even 2023
- Featured by the UNESCO's International Day of Light
- Featured by Fotografiska