Shedding a Little Light
Jules Slütsky’s photographs of Ukrainian refugees in Scotland show the love between mothers and children, and hope for life after war
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/4000 sec at F5.6, ISO 400
When Jules Slutsky learned that hotels in Scotland opened their doors to Ukrainian refugees, she knew it would make a compelling photography project.
As a Ukrainian-American photojournalist, Jules began documenting the Ukrainian diaspora in 2015, exploring overlapping themes of her own migration and cultural identity.
Although she has been interested in Ukraine her whole life, this moment in history when there are so many Ukrainian refugees around the world felt especially important to document.
Not only could she illuminate the lives of Ukrainian people navigating life in a new country, but this project would be personal – one of her cousins found refuge in a Scottish hotel.
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/4000 sec at F5.6, ISO 400
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/80 sec at F2.8, ISO 1600
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/80 sec at F2.8, ISO 1600
Jules spent one week with her cousin, Halia, and Halia’s two children, Sasha and Varvara, in their magenta-walled room at the Aberdeen Airport Dyce Hotel.
They join thousands of other Ukrainian refugees that have resettled in the UK since the beginning of the conflict. The hotel, like many in Scotland, provides temporary housing, meals, laundry service, and work opportunities for refugees while they learn English, enroll their children in school and daycare, and work toward long-term housing and employment.
Some move on in weeks, while for others it may take several months for the next steps to become clear.
“Each hotel room has a very similar format,” Jules explains. She was captivated by “so many different people and different narratives in such eerily similar hotel rooms”, and was eager to work within that “visual guideline”.
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF33mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F2.8, ISO 1600
Every morning, Jules slung her FUJIFILM X-H2 camera over her shoulder, and captured moments with Halia’s family as they started their day. Afterwards, Jules stepped into the hallway, connecting with the women and children around her. She showed up in the cafeteria for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Women invited her into their rooms, sharing experiences and memories. They spoke in Ukrainian about their losses, but also about hope for rebuilding their lives.
“Staying in the same hotel as the people I was photographing was a totally different experience than just coming in at a certain set of times. It really helped integrate the experience,” Jules says.
Her camera never distracted as women shared intimate and often harrowing details of what pushed them to leave everything behind. And though she brought a flash, she never used it, preferring the versatility of FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR and wide aperture of FUJINON XF33mmF1.4 R LM WR lenses. She worried that a flash would feel too staged and invasive.
“I was able to use a lot of the natural ambient light, like lamplight in the hotels, especially when talking with these women late at night.”
Though she felt the heaviness of the family’s situations, she was thankful to not be burdened by a heavy camera. “So, it didn’t break me,” Jules laughs. “I was grateful for that. Shoulders still functioning.” Having a camera that is comfortable to hold helps Jules keep focus on her life’s work.
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF33mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F2.8, ISO 1600
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF33mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1/160 sec at F5.6, ISO 800
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF33mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1/160 sec at F5.6, ISO 800
Jules was seven years old when her family left Ukraine to join her grandparents and aunt in New York during the nineties. They quickly found a Ukrainian community that helped her stay connected to her language and culture.
Both grandparents were journalists and Jules’s father was a cartographer and amateur photographer. He converted a bathroom in their Brooklyn apartment into a darkroom and often transformed their living room into a venue for slideshows.
Jules decided to major in photography in college because it allowed her to combine her passions.
“I could take an interest in social issues and philosophical issues and express that through photography, and it was a direct connection with people,” she says.
As the world recognizes the extent of the Ukrainian refugee crisis, Jules is thankful she can amplify the unique stories behind the doors of the Dyce hotel.
“It’s great to participate in that conversation and just shed a little bit more light.”
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/400 sec at F4, ISO 1600
Anastasiia and Olyana
Jules gets emotional talking about what Anastasiia Ohorodnik and her daughter Olyana went through in Ukraine: hiding in a hole the size of a grave, barely missing a bombing that killed some of her friends, walking through streets strewn with bodies.
Mother and daughter fled into Russia, then Estonia, Poland, and France before applying for resettlement in Scotland.
Olyana, who has autism, danced in circles around Jules while her mother talked. Anastasiia is thankful that Scotland offers helpful services and understanding approaches to people with special needs, while Olyana is thankful to be in a place where the airplanes are no longer a threat.
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/400 sec at F4, ISO 1600
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F3.6, ISO 1600
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F3.6, ISO 1600
Victoria, Angelica, Misha, and Rudy
Victoria Luchiyanova, a seamstress and antique collector, left home with only a small bag and her nebulizer treatment. The hotel room she shares with daughter Angelica and son Misha is bursting with treasures she’s gathered since leaving Ukraine. Their most precious acquisition is not a thing, but a friendly, four-year-old white rabbit named Rudy, who they pass from lap to lap.
Rudy came into their family during the months they lived in Poland. When Victoria applied for resettlement in Scotland, she filled out a special application just for Rudy, who has become a therapeutic companion. “The bunny brings them so much joy,” Jules says, adding that after her visit, the hotel manager surprised the family with a two-tiered penthouse just for Rudy.
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/4000 sec at F5.6, ISO 400
A Story of Resilience
Olexandria Shakyn wiped away tears remembering the horrors of war and the 40-acre cherry orchard her family will never see again. Though Jules witnessed deep sadness, it was not despair. The women she met had not lost faith in humanity. They were looking forward to meaningful work, and were happy to pass on pieces of Ukrainian culture to their children.
Some of the women teach Ukrainian Sunday school classes in town, where children can interact with kids staying in other hotels throughout Aberdeen. Many speak Russian better than Ukrainian because they were looked down upon for speaking their native tongue in school and work settings. As they study English, often as a third language, they are polishing up their Ukrainian and reminding themselves and their children to be proud of who they are and where they came from.
“A common thread was that none of them really saw themselves as refugees. If you asked, they would have an understanding of what an image of a refugee looks like,” Jules says. “They just don’t relate to that image.” Through her photography, Jules is revealing the humanity behind the statistics, and the strength and resilience it takes to begin again.
To explore more of Jules’s work, visit her website. To learn more about the gear she used to tell this story, visit FUJIFILM X-H2, FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR and FUJINON XF33mmF1.4 R LM WR.
Photo 2023 © Jules Slütsky | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/4000 sec at F5.6, ISO 400
You may also like...
Let's Keep in Touch!
Stay up to date on New Products, Promotions, and Special Offers!
COUNTRY / REGION
