Alena Grom
Ukraine
Biography
Ukrainian artist and documentary photographer Alena Grom was born in Donetsk. In April 2014, she was compelled to leave her hometown due to the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Since 2017, she has resided in Bucha, a town near Kyiv. Following the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, Grom and her family became refugees for the second time, but returned after Bucha was de-occupied.
These experiences have profoundly influenced her artistic practice. Photography has served as a lifeline for her, allowing her to confront the traumatic realities of war. Since 2016, Alena Grom has centered her work on locations affected by military aggression, capturing the lives of war victims, migrants, refugees.
Grom operates at the confluence of social reporting and conceptual photography, often working on her themes from the front lines. She perceives her “mission” as documenting the lives of individuals caught in the “gray zones” or near military conflicts. Through her photographs, she aims to inform the global community about the complexities of wartime life, the tragedies of Importantly, her images do not exist merely as illustrations of sorrow or grief. One of her primary themes is the persistence of life amidst adversity.
Alena Grom has received recognition as a laureate and winner in numerous international photography contest: https://alenagrom.com/information/about/
Project
“Stolen Spring” by Alena Grom is a documentary photography project created in the war-torn landscapes of Bucha and Irpin, Ukraine, where the artist lives and works amid daily reality and aftermath of conflict. The series enters into a historical dialogue with images made after World War II, referencing Polish photographer Michał Naś’s use of decorative backdrops to mask post-war ruins, and adapts this approach to portray contemporary survivors amidst destroyed urban fabric.
Grom focuses primarily on women whose lives were irrevocably altered by Russian aggression — people who lost homes, loved ones, health and the simple joys of springtime while rebuilding their lives under profoundly changed circumstances. Each portrait is at once a personal tragedy and a story of resilience, embodying both the weight of loss and the enduring hope that life can rise again from ruin.
