What’s important in my approach to the making of portraits is that I like to photograph them in the safe places where they feel as relaxed and concentrated as possible. Also, I’d love my portraits to be as quiet as possible. So with this approach, in 2024, I began my new project, Hell Was Full.
There’s a popular thing among military—badges, from just a call sign to a rainbow unicorn, from an assault brigade logo to a military meme. I haven’t met a soldier without at least one of those. In the summer of 2024, I was photographing a combat medic, Rebekah, while she was back for two days from the eastern frontline. In 2022, Rebekah came to Ukraine from Denver, Colorado. She had this «Hell was full so I came back» badge, which stuck with me for a long time with its meaning and striking parallels to today’s reality. The shortened version of this phrase became this project’s working title.
There’s a notion of portraying defenders in a very distinct manner with all the bravado, ammunition, tanks, and drones. It’s so natural to think of soldiers in this visual way, but I’m interested in a more intimate look at the subject. I try to keep this paraphernalia out of the picture with the aim to unmask the real human being underneath the armor. We don’t need to make those heroes up in a visual way. They ARE heroes, just from committing to this important job. And there are so many of them. Even if I wanted, it wouldn’t be possible to photograph everyone; that’s why I photograph those who are somehow closer to me. Those are my friends and their friends, but it also brings me to new people I never met.
With that being said, I want to be as straightforward as I can in this documentary portrait series. For me, the very quiet portraits in pretty quiet places not only give the space for reflection but also deepen the feeling of the hell that awaits these soldiers on the frontlines.