THE LAST 4 DAYS OF FEBRUARY: DIARY
In this photographic diary, Maryna Semenkova documents the first four days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The work captures a fragile border between daily life and the moment when everything collapses. Each image holds silence, fear, and tenderness — traces of a world that is disappearing while it is still alive.
Semencova’s gaze is both intimate and witnessing. She does not illustrate war; she records the state of being inside it — the slowed rhythm of time, the gestures of care, the effort to remain human when reality fractures. The project becomes an act of remembering, preserving not only what was seen, but what was felt.
Documentary project composed of photographs, videos, and text — a personal account of the first four days Maryna spent in Ukraine after February 24, 2022, the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
This video took part in the online festival TALK TO ME organized by Institute of Contemporary Art Greece for support Ukraine on March 18-19, 2022. Video duration is 18 min.
Curator: Vera Iona Papadopoulou.
April 14, 2022 this video was shown in the Atelier 11 (Paris) underground as part of a personal exhibition, in parallel with this, Maryna was doing a TAPED performance on the first floor.
May 20-22, 2022 several photographs from the series «The Last 4 days of February: Diary» were presented at a photo documentary photography festival PhotoDoc. Paris, France.
Curator: Julia De Bierre.
June 8 – July 10, 2022 several photographs from the series «The Last 4 days of February: Diary» were presented at a photo exhibition IDENTITIES. ASPECTS OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY IN UKRAINE.
Location: Apollonia art space, Strasbourg, France.
Curators: Glib Vysheslavsky, Daria Evdokimova.
July 4, 2022 several photographs from the series «The Last 4 days of February: Diary» were presented during the festival Les Recontres de la Photographie in Galerie Huit, Arles, France.
Curator: Julia De Bierre.
MARYNA SEMENKOVA 