Katerina Motyleva - My Annexed Family
In 2014, following the events of the Ukranian Revolution and the self-proclaimed independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics by pro-Russian separatists, an imminent armed conflict broke out in Eastern Ukraine, the remnants of which continue to this day. Photographer Katerina Motyleva (b. 1988, Ukraine) grew up on the outskirts of Luhansk just thirty kilometers from the border between Russia and Ukraine, and is one of many within the region whose lives have been irrevocably marked by the repercussions of this ongoing military conflict. Her project 'My annexed family' explores the effects of such national discord upon the identities of those unwittingly drawn into its depths on both a personal and familial level, and reflects upon the psychological impact of departing from one's conflict-ridden home and watching events unfold from far away, a mere spectator on the other side of a screen.
How does one reconcile their own sense of self-determination with the sense of helplessness borne of a dominating political machinery, whose effects seem entirely out of one's control? And, when civic unrest breeds the inevitable renewal of political discourses in the private sphere, how does one navigate the waters of ideological conflict within their own family, without alienating the ones that they love? Motyleva reflects upon such issues in her photographs, documenting the changes in both the physical environment and precarious societal landscape of her home of Luhansk. Although these changes upon the visual landscape remain ambiguous and imperceptible to the stranger's eye, they reflect upon the nuanced nature of coming of age within (and distant from) a nation embroiled in political turmoil. "The last years of my twenties — the time of parting with youthful illusions — coincided with the salvos of military weapons, which sounded in the everpresent news reports and alarming calls of my relatives," Motyleva writes. In directing her camera towards the familiar places and faces of her hometown, Motyleva renews her relationship with her subjects, attempting to penetrate into the heart of those feelings of detachment and disconnect often experienced by those who have departed from their homeland.
Katerina Motyleva was born in Voroshilovgrad, Ukraine (former USSR) in 1988, and is currently based in The Hague, NL. Her work reflects on themes of family and social environment, and researching in social gender patterns.