Wounded Beauty: Marta Syrko's Portraits of Ukrainian Soldiers

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Podcast \ Personalities

Authors: Denis Vėjas, Sigita Vegytė

Photographers: Denis Vėjas, Marta Syrko

Editor: Karolis Vyšniauskas

2025 10 20

Partners:

Interview \ Perspectives \ Ukraine \ Photography \ Disability \ Community \ Health

In her intimate photographs, Ukrainian artist Marta Syrko reimagines Ukraine's soldiers as figures from Renaissance sculptures and classical paintings. We met her in the Lviv studio this September.

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Marta Syrko, a Lviv-native, began as a fashion photographer. She has always been interested in the human body. But after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, her practice shifted. Marta started photographing people whose bodies now carry the marks of war: veterans who have lost limbs, those with burns or scars.

Marta Syrko in her studio in Lviv, Ukraine, this September. ©Denis Vėjas

In Marta’s images, the models – or, as she calls them, the heroes – are portrayed as living sculptures. She draws inspiration from one of the oldest art forms, sculpture, and reimagines it through the lens of her camera.

In her photographs, Marta Syrko reveals the beauty and humanity of Ukrainian soldiers while honoring their loss. ©Marta Syrko

“If it happened to me, what would I do? This project was the answer. Because I live here [in Ukraine] and I understand that it can happen.”

What drew us to Marta’s work is how personal and reflective it feels. It’s not only about documenting what Russia’s murderous war has done to the Ukrainian people – it’s also about how we see ourselves and those around us, and how photography can help us accept loss.

“After you see death really close, you understand that life is not forever. I opened myself up to a lot of stuff after the war.”

This conversation, which we are publishing at NARA podcast today, gives an intimate look into Marta Syrko’s work, told by the artist herself.

Marta Syrko was born in 1995 in Lviv, Ukraine. Her works have been exhibited in Kyiv, Amsterdam, Budapest, Vilnius. ©Denis Vėjas

See more of Marta Syrko's work on her Instagram account. Read NARA's reporting from Ukraine in Lithuanian and English.

Interview \ Perspectives \ Ukraine \ Photography \ Disability \ Community \ Health

Music by Martynas Gailius. Sound engineering by Kata Bitowt. For additional edits we want to thank Adomas Zubė.

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This episode is part of the PERSPECTIVES project. Co-financed by the European Union, PERSPECTIVES brings together journalists from the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Ukraine and Estonia. The journalists work together on an international editorial basis to produce publications of cross-border relevance. The cornerstones of this cooperation are editorial independence and accountability to readers. Working together, the partners strive for ethical, high-quality journalism.