Photo exhibition reveals life between Ukraine and Dorset

The work of a Ukrainian photographer will be on show at the Museum of East Dorset from 20 June to 26 September.

Iryna Sozanska’s exhibition ‘Occupied/Unoccupied’ captures the fragile line between survival and renewal.

In the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sozanska photographed her family as they lived under occupation and survived evacuation. These images — once simple family snapshots — became symbols of endurance, carried through Russian checkpoints as her family fled their home. Now, living in Ferndown, Iryna revisits those photographs alongside new images of her family’s life in Dorset.

In one photograph, her children shelter behind a mattress as glass shatters during an attack; in another, those same children play freely on the hills of Badbury Rings. Alongside the photographs are personal objects connected to Sozanska’s journey and a short film offering a glimpse into the first days of the war.

Sozanska said: “Photography became my way to hold on — to remember, to process, and to rebuild. These images are about finding light again, even after everything changes.”

Entry to the exhibition is free with normal museum entry.