As folks’s lives have been uprooted by Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine, one native photographer has stayed in her nation and shifted her content material from journey and portraits to documenting the bittersweet actuality of sheltering in an underground bunker.
From Stylish Portraits and Journey Images to a Darkish Bunker
20-year previous Valeria Shashenok is a contract photographer who now shelters together with her mother and father, canine, and two household mates in Chernihiv, north of Ukraine.
Her aspirational journey images, sensual portraits of younger folks, and exquisite selfies have now been changed with movies that present destruction and rubble-filled metropolis with blown-out home windows however with a contact of darkish humor to assist make sense of the brand new actuality for individuals who stay in Ukraine.
@valerissshShit occurs♬ Certain 2 Slowed n Reverb by Kanye – Jxy.Creations
There isn’t a proper approach to deal with the brutal realities of struggle, and Shashenok is the proof of that. Her TikTok account has virtually 800,000 followers and her content material now facilities on her on a regular basis life — from what it’s wish to stay in a bomb shelter with out electrical energy, to the groceries she managed to get from a store, to witty digs at Vladimir Putin for “serving to” restore a hospital that now’s fully destroyed from airstrikes.
Above all, nevertheless, Shashenok’s content material brings consideration to the destroyed cities and lives of harmless civilians whose lives have been turned the other way up.
@valerissshUkraine always remember it🇺🇦♬ Alice in Wonderland – Joanna Wang
@valerisssh I discovered the final avocado within the grocery store!!!!! #ukraine #stopwar #russiastop ♬ Sleigh Experience – Leroy Anderson
@valerissshWelcome to my 5 stars resort 🥰🥰🥰♬ authentic sound – allrapperlations
In an interview with The Lower, Shashenok reveals she makes use of humor as a coping mechanism. Having stated that, she desires to make folks care and to see the devastation, too. Utilizing her expertise in creating TikToks for companies in Ukraine, she now makes her content material utilizing English captions to succeed in wider audiences.
“[My audience] have to know that Ukrainian individuals are the strongest,” Shashenok tells The Lower. “I needed to point out that one man, one Russian man, president, silly man, destroyed my native nation. And I’m a small woman who can’t cease this man. I needed to point out what actually occurred. How I see, in my model.”
@valerissshHeaven 🤘♬ Écoute Chérie – Vendredi sur Mer
“I really feel it’s like my mission to point out folks the way it seems in actual life,” Shashenok says in an interview with CNN. “That it’s actual life, and I’m right here.
“Many Russian folks write me that we’re with you. … In Russia, (there’s) a variety of faux information. And the general public don’t imagine that in my nation we now have a struggle. … My mission [is] to point out [the] entire world that it’s occur[ing] now in actual life, and you’ll see the struggle on TikTok.”
Darkish Humor and the Equally Darkish Actuality
Shashenok says that the state of affairs is getting more and more worse every day and she or he desires to go away the nation, as does her mom. However, her father desires to stay in Ukraine so the household determined to remain collectively.
“I’m all the time making an attempt to go outdoors, however it’s so harmful,” she tells The Lower relating to her day by day life within the shelter. “Most days I spend one hour or two hours outdoors. To cross the time I reply messages, make TikToks, converse with mates, eat, watch one thing.”
@valerisssh Third Phrase Conflict! Putin, thank u #ukraine #stopwar #russiastop ♬ Je te laisserai des mots – Patrick Watson
@valerisssh I’m in love of my life! 🥰🥰🥰 #ukraine #stopwar ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
@valerisssh Do u have a mind, Putin?🤔 #ukraine #stopwar #russiastop ♬ New York Herald Tribune (A bout de souffle) – Martial Solal
There isn’t a time for Shashenok to plan her content material. If it’s protected to exit or to enter a constructing, Shashenok makes a spontaneous determination to go for it.
Uplifting Feedback From Viewers Worldwide
Total the response has been optimistic with the worldwide viewers following Shashenok’s content material day by day.
“I’m a 65-year-old in Los Angeles, and it’s so shifting to see that only a few weeks in the past you had been having enjoyable, going out, and now you’re chronicling this case from a bomb shelter,” writes one on-line person in response to Shashenok’s movies. “And you’re doing it with smarts and making it upbeat. It’s arduous to imagine that somebody might be as evil and damaging as Putin. I really feel a lot for all of you who’re enduring his mindless assaults, and I ship you’re keen on and help. You go, woman!!”
@valerisssh DAMMMNNNNNN IM SHOCKED! #ukraine ♬ authentic sound – Valerisssh
Shashenok is looking forward to the long run even regardless of Russia destroying any likelihood of evacuation from cities like Chernihiv.
“Individuals have to worth freedom,” the photographer tells CNN. “It’s crucial (factor) we now have.”
Extra of Shashenok’s content material might be discovered on her TikTok, Instagram, and Behance profile.
