The Black Poppies: Burnt In The Fire of War

• Photographer
  Halyna Vitiuk
• Photo Date
  May 2023

According to legends, red poppies bloom at the places of fierce battles, where the blood of warriors was spilled. My photo project is dedicated to unbreakable Ukrainian soldiers. On the battlefields in Ukraine, poppies turned black from fire and ash. Their tender petals were cruelly scorched by the fire of war, but I believe they did not perish. Instead, they have changed their structure and form and continue to exist. Each black flower inspires us with its shape and reminds us of the firmness and steadfastness of Ukrainian heroes.

Halyna Vitiuk is an art and food photographer. She was born in 1983 in Odesa, Ukraine. Since February 2022 she has been temporarily based in Brasov, Romania. Her art focuses on finding the interesting in the simple and creating magic out of the ordinary. In her work she enjoys using everyday objects, food and flowers, inventing unusual combinations and rethinking their meanings. Through bright colors and nuanced tones in her artworks, she aims to convey a good mood, joy, inspiration and a desire for viewers to make their own visual discoveries.