Ukrainian war photojournalist Julia Kochetova has become one of the four winners of this year’s competition. Her project ‘War is Personal’ won the Open Format category in the World Press Photo (WPP) 2024 competition
‘I’m not doing a project, it’s actually my life. As Ukrainian reporters, we never choose whether or not to cover this war, because it is our war’, Julia explains in a comment on the project.
On Instagram, the photographer shared the story behind one of the shots:
‘I know that this photo and our flag will travel around all over the world. The summer of 2022, on the edge of Kharkiv and Donetsk region, and this ‘checkpoint’, and the urgent initial need to raise our flag. I photograph death so much, but this photo is about the fact that we are alive and will live’.
View this post on Instagram
‘No prize wins the war. But I’m gifted to have a clear feeling that I’m one of those who hold our flag. I will do it as much as I can. Honor to the killed in action, glory to the living heroes. Thank you to those who protected me and continue to defend my right to live’, she added.
About the ‘War is Personal’ project
Julia’s photos were complemented with illustrations by Oleksandr Komiakhov and music by Daria Kolomiec, a DJ and cultural activist.
As noted in the project description on WPP’s website, ‘the multidisciplinary format of ‘War is Personal’ allows the photographer to inject more emotion and symbolism than photographs might convey on their own’.
According to Kochetova, she wanted the war to get a ‘name and a face’: ‘I want Ukrainian photography of this war to be remembered as a first-person history. Not a drone flyover. Not a wide shot of graves and bombed-out streets. Don’t try to capture the overall picture of the entire war — it’s easy to lose the human in the wide shot. Just honestly tell one personal story’.
‘The emotive images make for a standout presentation amidst many entries about the ongoing russian invasion of Ukraine. The jury acknowledges this story’s insider-perspective, which is especially evident in the thread of symbolism, strong use of color sequences, and collaborations with a Ukrainian illustrator and DJ’, the competition jury commented on the work.
Talking about the victory in the regional segment of the competition, Julia thanked Ukrainian photographers, in particular Serhiy Nikolayev and Max Levin, women in the industry and the Ukrainian Defense Forces, who ‘keep protecting her and the whole world from russian occupation since 2014, and have saved and helped her a hundred times’.
You can see Kochetova’s project on her website.
‘War is Personal’ by Julia Kochetova is included in the photo book ‘13 Stories of War’ by Ukrainian Warchive. The team positions the presented works as the authors’ response to the full-scale invasion and an alternative to the conventional narratives that are spreading in the media.
In addition to Julia, the book features works by Evgeniy Maloletka, Dmytro Kozatskyi, Sasha Kurmaz, Julia Kochetova, Yana Kononova, Yelyzaveta Bukrieieva, Roman Pashkovskiy, Olena Hrom, Sergiy Polezhaka, Alexander Glyadyelov, Olya Koval, Viacheslav Ratynskyi and Roman Bordun.
The Strategic Media Support Program project implements the Lviv Media Forum with financial support from People in Need (PIN) and Pioneer Foundation.
