Two Photography Series Documenting
the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis
By Jacob Mollohan
Discretion is Advised An image in this exhibition contains graphic language and may not be suitable for young children.
Artist’s Statement
“The Russian Invasion in Ukraine has been devastating to our world for more than one reason. Some say this is World War III already among us, some think it is going away. No matter what you think one thing is for sure, it has ripped many people from their homes. The Ukrainian refugee crisis is one of the largest refugee crises the world has seen since World War II. It is estimated that 10 million people have fled their homes. Poland taking on the largest portion of refugees. They had about 1,500 refugees per hour crossing the border.
On March 6th, 2022, my father and I departed to Krakow, Poland. Our goal was to go help volunteer during the Ukrainian refugee crisis. We found during our time that the Krakow train station needed the most volunteers. Krakow train station was the end of the railway for cars coming in from Kyiv. This is where we determined we could support the best. We helped move jars of baby food, cots, cribs, diapers, passed out food, anything we could get our hands on. During our time, I had my camera with me to document what it was I saw, in hopes that I could bring back a strong set of images to activate as much support and empathy as possible for the Ukrainian peoples.
In this series I show the people of Ukraine in transit to their next chapter. Some were off to hotels, some off to other countries where they had friends, and some had nowhere to go at all. This series goal is to encompass and display the wide array of emotion that could be felt and seen at the Krakow train station.“
Artist’s Statement
“Blue & Yellow is an extension of my work Krakow Train Station. Just as that series sets its goal on raising support for the Ukrainian refugee crisis, this series shares the same objective. I hope that this series helps viewers empathetically connect to the people who have been torn from their homes due to the Russian invasion. The images in this series show a predominant color set of blue and yellow, represented by the peoples supporting their home colors. The colors can also be seen across the city and volunteers of Krakow as a nod of support. This kind of support give comfort as a means of saying you’re safe and we will do all we can to help you.”
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