Svet Jacqueline: Moments When The Smoke Clears

Join us for the Opening Reception of documentary photojournalist Svet Jacqeline's solo show, Moments When The Smoke Clears: Two Years of Covering The War in Ukraine . On view June 14 - August 18th, 2024.

"When I first arrived in Ukraine at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, it was completely foreign to me. I was thrown into the breaking news of covering war, drawn instinctively to the humanitarian moments that seemed most undeserved. I had a semi-broken camera, an age-old computer, and defaulting hard drives in my bag - no conflict experience, no editorial contacts, and a small amount of borrowed money in my pocket.

Never had I seen such grief, violence, and death.

This past year has allowed for a deeper perspective, an integration of everyday moments that seem to provide relief from the never-ending tragedy. As a Russian orphan around the collapse of the Soviet Union adopted into a Ukrainian-descending American family, the history of Russia and Ukraine has always been a personal story.

The message now feels more abstract than just what war looks like - it is what surviving a war feels like" - Svet Jacqueline

ABOUT

Svet Jacqueline earned a Bachelor of Science in Photography from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. For several years she did commercial work, freelancing for Sony Records and managing studios in Los Angeles, California. During the global pandemic, she began documenting the Black Lives Matter movement and published her first book, 100 Days of Protest. In 2021, she split her time between Los Angeles, Mexico, and Texas documenting migration at the U.S. border and the cycle of poverty on Skid Row. Her work won first place in the International Photography Awards and NPPA Best of Photojournalism. When Russia invaded Ukraine, she began focusing on visual stories around childhood trauma in conflict zones. She is a photo essayist in the book, Relentless Courage: Ukraine And The World At War and Ukraine: A War Crime by FotoEvidence. All About Photo named her one of the best modern photographers in their September issue and CNN featured her as one of 12 women and nonbinary photographers capturing 2022. She has participated in the “Eddie Adams Workshop,” and the “Missouri Photo Workshop.” Recent exhibitions have been at the Orlando Museum of Art, NYU, and The Ukraine House in Washington D.C.. She was shortlisted for the Mary Stafford reportage grant and received The Yunghi Grant for her ongoing work, “Too Young To Fight.” You can find more of her work in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and ZUMA Press.