The photo exhibition “Eyes of War” by Serhiy Diveiev opened in Chernivtsi

On November 13, the photo exhibition “Eyes of War” was opened in the Chernivtsi Regional Universal Scientific Library named after Mykhailo Ivasyuk.

Its author is Serhiy Diveev, a photographer and military journalist from Dnipro.

The exhibition includes more than 20 photographs from the thousands of shots Serhiy took over six years in combat areas, military hospitals, and cemeteries. The pictures show the eyes of soldiers, chaplains, volunteers, doctors, and children. They are united by the war, and each of them has his or her own dramatic story.

The photos themselves were taken to Dnipro by the military during the occupation of Adiivka. Then Serhiy sent the pictures to Chernivtsi, to our Charitable Foundation.

“I want the war to be remembered neither in Ukraine nor abroad. Other people should see these eyes, and feel the pain that war brings. And to do everything possible to prevent it from happening again,” says the author of the photos, Serhiy Diveev.

The series began with a photograph of the eyes of a Ukrainian soldier who had just been released from militant captivity. It was 2015. The guy was released from captivity and brought to Dnipro. It was the first hours after his capture. Serhiy saw his eyes and took a picture. And when he made this photo in black and white, he realized that a series for the exhibition had begun. Serhiy Diveiev's photos also feature well-known figures, such as the first leader of the Right Sector, Dmytro Yarosh, actress Irma Vitovska-Vantsa, military chaplain from Dnipro Father Dmytro Povorotnyi, and volunteer Tetyana Guba. However, the author deliberately avoided any captions: only the eyes should speak.

“When we saw these photos and heard the stories of the people depicted, we realized that we needed to bring the exhibition to Chernivtsi, to any city in Ukraine, and abroad. You can talk about the war for a long time, you can argue, but looking into the eyes of people who have witnessed death, abuse, and combat up close, you can understand everything without words,” says Olena Tanasiichuk, President of the Social Resources and Initiatives Foundation.

The exhibition will run from November 13 to 30, 2024, at the Mykhailo Ivasyuk Chernivtsi Regional Universal Scientific Library. Admission is free.