«Days of Light»: photo exhibition about the liberation of Kherson presented in Mykolaiv region

On Friday, 14 November, a photo project by Kherson-based photojournalist and soldier Anton Balan «Days of Light» about the first days of Kherson's liberation from occupation was presented in Mykolaiv region.

The photos were presented in the art centre of the village of Sviatomykolaivka, according to the correspondent of NikVesti.

Anton Balan is a Ukrainian photojournalist, photographer and designer from Kherson. He previously worked with regional media, the Kherson City Administration and as a photographer at the Oles Honchar Regional Universal Scientific and Technical Library. He is currently a contract soldier in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The photographer's mother, Svitlana Balan, said that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, her son was a reservist in the Kherson Territorial Defence. From the morning of 24 February until 1 March, he carried out orders to defend the city, and after the occupation, the unit was disbanded.

«My son was a member of the Kherson TRO and took part in hostilities until 1 March, and then the unit was disbanded: «Disband and wait — our people will be released, you will help». But the release dragged on for eight months, and we could not leave. At the end of this period, the commander warned my son: «I didn't give you my phone number, but there may be provocations», so there was almost no communication. When Kherson was liberated, people found themselves in a situation where they were left to help, and now they don't know who we are, and no one knows us. I told him: «Take your camera and go take pictures». And he went to take pictures on the 12th, because we only found out late in the evening of the 11th that the city had been liberated. These photos are from the first days when there were almost no photographers in the city,» says Balan.

She says that after the liberation of the city, her son updated his military registration and enlistment office, as a lot of information was lost in Kherson, and then mobilised.

«When Anton signed the contract, he had about a month to prepare the exhibition. At the time, nothing could be printed in Kherson, so we looked for friends all over Ukraine to help with printing. I remember coordinating the details while sitting on the bathroom floor while the house was being shelled. Our windows overlook the left bank, and there were probably five arrivals in our entrance alone. Only one person lives there now, and I've been there only four times this year. Anton received the printed photos in Kyiv. And Kyiv was the first city to open the exhibition, at the Crimean House. He managed to attend the opening and signed a contract a week later. After that, I was in charge of organising exhibitions: I didn't go myself, but through my friends I made arrangements with everyone who wanted to host it,» added Svitlana Balan.

Oksana Pohomii, a volunteer and public figure from Kherson, said that during the occupation, together with the team of the NGO «The Business of Kherson Communities», they bought food and helped Kherson residents, while the townspeople hid flags, waiting for the military to return.

«We didn't just survive the occupation, we didn't sit at home and do nothing — we helped our Armed Forces as much as we could. We also helped those people who stayed in Kherson. Our NGO «Kherson Community Affairs» bought food: people donated to us from the very first days, because we were immediately cut off from «the big land». We bought only Ukrainian products, packed them ourselves and constantly changed locations so that the Russians would not find us. Until the liberation, we were waiting for our defenders, believing that they would come and liberate the city. We understood how difficult it was. And I want you to understand: back then, it was impossible to buy a Ukrainian flag in Kherson — it was just unrealistic. Look at these photos: there is a flag on each one. People were hiding them and waiting for the Armed Forces,» said Oksana Pohomii.

The village of Sviatomykolaivka became the 14th place where the photo exhibition «Days of Light» was presented. Previously, the exhibition was shown in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kolomiia, Rivne, Volodymyr, Lutsk and Dubno.

Photo report

As a reminder, on 11 November, the Vereshchahin Mykolaiv Regional Art Museum opened an exhibition «The World of Oleksandr Matiiko» dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Honoured Artist of Ukraine, Mykolaiv painter Oleksandr Matiiko.