THE LAST 4 DAYS OF FEBRUARY: DIARY (2022)
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 built from photographs, video, and autobiographical text recorded during the first four days following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the project captures the moment when private life abruptly transforms into a space of historical violence.
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.
Full photo and video documentation available upon request.
MARYNA SEMENKOVA 