Category
Latest news

Oleksandr Glyadyelov Brings Ukraine’s Story of Loss and Resistance to the Gates of Paris

Oleksandr Glyadyelov Brings Ukraine’s Story of Loss and Resistance to the Gates of Paris

An open-air exhibition of photographs by Ukrainian documentary photographer Oleksandr Glyadyelov was unveiled on February 3, 2026, on the gates of the Quai d’Orsay in Paris, as part of Journey to Ukraine, the Season of Ukraine in France.

3 min read
Authors
Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko
Dariia Mykhailenko
News Writer

Titled “Looking at Ukraine – A Fractured Narrative of Ukraine’s Independence,” the exhibition is presented by France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and forms part of a broader cultural initiative organized by the French Institute and the Ukrainian Institute.

Running from December 2025 through March 2026, the program spans multiple locations across France and foregrounds Ukrainian language and culture as spaces of resistance, dialogue, and civic engagement.

We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.

DONATE NOW

The exhibition draws on a retrospective dedicated to Glyadyelov that was held in Kyiv in September 2025. It traces Ukraine’s modern history since independence in 1991, focusing on the repeated upheavals that have shaped Ukrainian society.

Photographs by Ukrainian documentary photographer Oleksandr Glyadyelov displayed on the gates of the Quai d’Orsay in Paris as part of the exhibition “Looking at Ukraine,” February 2026. (Photo: French Institute)
Photographs by Ukrainian documentary photographer Oleksandr Glyadyelov displayed on the gates of the Quai d’Orsay in Paris as part of the exhibition “Looking at Ukraine,” February 2026. (Photo: French Institute)

Through portraits of women, men, and families, the photographs reflect the experience of defending territory, language, and culture amid political rupture and war, while highlighting resilience, solidarity, and everyday humanity.

Oleksandr Glyadyelov is regarded as a leading figure in contemporary Ukrainian documentary photography. For more than 35 years, his work has followed the major turning points of post-Soviet and Ukrainian history, from the collapse of the Soviet Union to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

A photograph by Oleksandr Glyadyelov depicting the evacuation of civilians during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, shown at the Quai d’Orsay exhibition in Paris. (Photo: French Institute)
A photograph by Oleksandr Glyadyelov depicting the evacuation of civilians during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, shown at the Quai d’Orsay exhibition in Paris. (Photo: French Institute)
A portrait from Oleksandr Glyadyelov’s long-term documentary work, reflecting childhood and vulnerability in post-Soviet Ukraine. (Photo: French Institute)
A portrait from Oleksandr Glyadyelov’s long-term documentary work, reflecting childhood and vulnerability in post-Soviet Ukraine. (Photo: French Institute)

Working primarily in black and white, Glyadyelov employs a humanist visual language that emphasizes emotional depth, continuity of life, and the persistence of dignity in extreme conditions.

Visitors view Glyadyelov’s black-and-white photographs documenting Ukrainian soldiers and civilians during key moments of Ukraine’s modern history. (Photo: French Institute)
Visitors view Glyadyelov’s black-and-white photographs documenting Ukrainian soldiers and civilians during key moments of Ukraine’s modern history. (Photo: French Institute)
An image from Kyiv’s Maidan protests featured in the open-air exhibition, tracing the roots of Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty. (Photo: French Institute)
An image from Kyiv’s Maidan protests featured in the open-air exhibition, tracing the roots of Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty. (Photo: French Institute)

In line with the broader aims of Journey to Ukraine, the exhibition positions culture as an essential element of resistance and international solidarity. Installed in a prominent public space in central Paris, Looking at Ukraine invites passersby to engage with Ukraine’s struggle for independence, freedom, and sovereignty through the lived experiences of its people.

A photograph capturing a moment of protest and civic resistance in Kyiv, part of Glyadyelov’s visual chronicle of Ukraine’s struggle for independence. (Photo: French Institute)
A photograph capturing a moment of protest and civic resistance in Kyiv, part of Glyadyelov’s visual chronicle of Ukraine’s struggle for independence. (Photo: French Institute)

That perspective was already powerfully articulated in Glyadyelov’s exhibition And I Saw, which opened on September 5 at the Ukrainian House in Kyiv. Bringing together 323 black-and-white photographs taken exclusively in Ukraine, it offered the most comprehensive overview of his career to date.

Often described as a visual chronicle of modern Ukraine, the exhibition traced decades of social rupture, protest, hardship, and endurance, deliberately rejecting any interpretive frame shaped by Russia. Spread across three floors, the photographs made clear that Ukrainian resistance did not begin in 2022, but is rooted in a much longer historical experience.

Shot with his Leica M6, Glyadyelov’s images position the photographer as a steady witness to that continuity, documenting how resistance, identity, and humanity persist across generations.

See all

Support UNITED24 Media Team

Your donation powers frontline reporting from Ukraine.
United, we tell the war as it is.

Join MonthlyGive One Time