Gandy Gallery is pleased to present the new online exhibition of Alena Grom.

Mavky. Camouflage

The heroines of the project are real women, residents of the Ukrainian village of Horenka, Buchansky District. In March 2022, the village was on the front line and suffered from constant shelling. According to the UN, as a result of Russian aggression, 77% of the buildings in Horenka were destroyed. For local residents, those events became a severe trauma, houses were destroyed and neighbors died before their eyes… The liberation of Kyiv Oblast gave an impetus to the reconstruction of the village and the restoration of social ties in the community, but the war continued. Striving to be useful members of the community, the women of Horenka organized the volunteer group «Horenski Mavky». They have different ages, different professions, and different social statuses, but they are united by the desire to do something important together.
Even the blackout of the winter of 2022-2023 did not prevent them — under the constant threat of rocket attacks, by candlelight, in the cold, the weaving of camouflage products continued. And now women continue to produce nets that imitate natural colors and «kikimori» — camouflage clothing for snipers and scouts, which makes the military invisible and saves lives. There is a constant need for such means, they go to the front as quickly as possible. Volunteers are convinced that camouflage products, woven with love and faith, have the power of charms.
In times of the most difficult trials, the people turn to their roots, to the common ground that has shaped their national identity for thousands of years. And today Ukrainian mythology has come in handy along with other components of culture. The folkloric character of the Mavky is one of the most famous, it is sung in legends, works of art, and in art. An ambivalent figure on the border between the worlds of the living and the dead, in recent times the mavka — including thanks to Lesya Ukrainka’s «Forest Song» — has become a symbol of victorious femininity, ardent self-sacrificing love.
In every photo, female virtues are revealed: beauty, soft power, connection with nature, love, care for family, sincerity, unity with friends. The heroines of the photo project do not destroy, do not seek revenge for destroyed homes and lives — they protect the present, build a future for new generations on their land. This future must be defended in war, and Mavka, a Ukrainian woman, stood by her soldiers.
This project resonates with Andy Warhol’s famous project «Camouflage» / Camouflage (1986), where the contrast between the impersonality of camouflage and the bright individuality of the portrait was used. The camouflage motif also appeared in the clothes that Andy Warhol created in collaboration with fashion designer Stephen Sprouse. Camouflage as an abstract pattern offers a number of interpretations: from stealth to courage, from the beauty of an idyllic landscape to the nervous tension of a sniper. Such an allusion shows the heroines of the project in their vulnerability and at the same time as protectors and guardians, whose strength is nature itself.

Ukrainian artist and documentary photographer Alena Grom was born in Donetsk. In April 2014, she was compelled to leave her hometown due to the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Since 2017, she has resided in Bucha, a town near Kyiv. Following the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, Grom and her family became refugees for the second time, but returned after Bucha was de-occupied.

These experiences have profoundly influenced her artistic practice. Photography has served as a lifeline for her, allowing her to confront the traumatic realities of war. Since 2016, Alena Grom has centered her work on locations affected by military aggression, capturing the lives of war victims, migrants, refugees.
Grom operates at the confluence of social reporting and conceptual photography, often working on her themes from the front lines. She perceives her “mission” as documenting the lives of individuals caught in the “gray zones” or near military conflicts. Through her photographs, she aims to inform the global community about the complexities of wartime life, the tragedies of
Importantly, her images do not exist merely as illustrations of sorrow or grief. One of her primary themes is the persistence of life amidst adversity.
Alena Grom has received recognition as a laureate and winner in numerous international photography contest.