Memoria

This project focuses on the important recollections of the women who live in the only penal colony for women ages 14-20 in Ukraine, located in the southeastern city of Melitopol. For 13 participating women, we created diptychs that include a portrait of each individual and an image of a place, object, photograph, or article of clothing that is particularly important to their memory. In some cases, the participating women are minors, so their faces cannot be shown. The women were also interviewed about the object they selected, and their explanations are included here as text. (Please click on the image, then open the text from the lower right corner.) For women who are incarcerated, memories of other times and places are particularly important to their identity. In fact, the interviews reveal that memories need not be solely focused on the past, but can be an inspiration to take action for the future. Memoria was organized by Yulia Kostereva and Yuriy Kruchak of Open Place in Kiev, Ukraine and was accomplished with the cooperation of the Melitopol Museum of Local Lore.

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