From 20 January to 8 March 2026, the Café Gallery at Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum in Bournemouth will host Occupied/Unoccupied, a powerful photography exhibition by Ukrainian photographer Iryna Sozanska.
Occupied/Unoccupied is a deeply personal project that emerged during the early days of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. At that time, Sozanska photographed her family while they were living under occupation and during their evacuation. Initially created as family memories, these images were later carried through Russian checkpoints—an experience that transformed them into something far heavier, and for some, into direct evidence of war crimes.
Soon after these events, Sozanska made the difficult decision to leave Ukraine and found safety in England. Only after three years of living in relative security did she feel she had the emotional and practical resources to begin sharing these photographs publicly.
The exhibition brings together images from occupied Ukraine and places them in dialogue with contrasting moments from her family’s new life in the UK. Viewers encounter scenes of children hiding from flying glass behind a mattress during an attack, followed by images of the same children playing freely on the hills of Badbury Rings. This visual shift underscores the fragile boundary between danger and safety, trauma and healing.
In addition to the photographs, the exhibition includes a fragment of a Russian shell and a video filmed by the artist, complete with sound. These elements offer visitors a direct and immersive sense of the atmosphere during the first days of the full-scale war.
Occupied/Unoccupied is an exhibition about survival, loss, awareness, and the acceptance of change. It reflects on rebuilding life from the beginning and on the healing made possible through the care and support of people who opened their homes and families to Ukrainians.
Dates: Tuesday 20 January – Sunday 8 March 2026
Venue: Café Gallery, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, East Cliff Promenade, Bournemouth, BH1 3AA
Admission: Free
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