DMYTRO KUPRIYAN
This project is a visual reflection by Dmytro on his personal experience of war, embodied in three series of works: Fragments of War, Sackcloth, and Retaken Land. Each series explores a distinct facet of the artist’s frontline reality—from the struggle for every meter of native land to the profound bonds formed between soldiers, and the material traces that war inscribes upon the world.
The series Fragments of War consists of remnants of military weaponry collected by the artist in the Donetsk region. Resembling asteroid debris, these objects are imbued with stories—anonymous, yet deeply intimate. They symbolize not only the destructive force of war but also human lives that, like these fragments, were torn from their ordinary existence and thrown into the maelstrom of war.
Sackcloth serves as a metaphor for the brotherhood born in war. Fabric that once functioned as bedsheets or table linens is repurposed on the battlefield as material for cleaning weapons. Stitched together, these scraps of cloth form an artifact—a testament to unity and remembrance of those who stood side by side in the most difficult moments.
The Retaken Land series features soil gathered by the artist during seven of the nine assaults he participated in. The soil is encased in glass spheres that contain schematic drawings of combat operations. With the slightest movement, the soil within the sculpture settles, revealing the images of the areas where battles were fought.
“What is the worth of each fragment of land retaken in this war? What is the cost of our victories? Every victory, every meter, may have been paid for with a soldier’s blood, health, or even life,” the artist reflects.
BIOGRAPHY
Dmytro Kupriyan (b. 1982, Kyiv) is a photographer and artist whose work explores war, violence, and memory. He began his career as a photojournalist and later turned to art projects focusing on human rights violations and the aftermath of violence, such as Tortured, a series documenting police brutality in Ukraine.
Since 2014, his focus has shifted to the war in Ukraine. He has created several series of works, including Fragments of War, Banality of Aggression, and When the War Is Over. Dmytro has been an active combatant since 2015. After demobilization, his artistic interests expanded toward themes of personal identity and lived space, captured through a minimalist and refined visual language (HOME, HOMO, Corner Spirit).
Following russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he served in an assault unit and worked as a press officer. During this time, he continued to document and reflect on the realities of war, which materialized in such projects as Retaken Land and The Art of War, or Rules for Caring for an Automatic Rifle.
In his practice, Dmytro combines photography, textiles, sculpture, and documentary artifacts.