Ukrainian-American photographer from Kharkiv, UAPP participant Sasha Maslov together with the Canadian-Ukrainian project Saint Javelin presented the photobook “SAINTS” (translated from English — “saints” — ed.). This is a publication about the personal sacrifice of people who decided to resist the brutal Russian invasion, which the whole world has been watching since February 24, 2024 until now.
“SAINTS” presents photos of more than 100 heroes who contributed to the defense of Ukraine during the war. These are military, volunteers, journalists, artists, etc. Foreigners are also on the list. Some of the characters in the book have already died in the war.
Sasha Maslov explains why she calls her heroes “saints”: “I always immediately start defending critics of this name because I understand perfectly well: the name “Saints” can be interpreted in different ways. I don't think there are saints among us. I don't think anyone can be a saint, I'm not trying to canonise the people who are in the book, but the fact is that the people who are now going to self-sacrifice on this scale are the people that the streets will be called in the future. These are the people we will thank for a long time to come. Maybe it's a pretty ambitious name, but I wanted to show in this way the spectrum of what's happening right now before our eyes.”
The cover of the edition was also chosen not by chance. The photographer says that the image presented is “fairly anonymous and at the same time summarizes the project.” “Of course, it is very difficult to do this, but, I think, this photo copes with this mission. Plus, it's a good photo that I just love,” says Sasha.
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The photographer emphasizes that the characters in the photo book are a small part of the people who are supposed to be there. Some of them, he did not have time to photograph because of the death, someone did not find time, and someone could not agree.
I wish there were more characters in the book. But I also want to note that we should not take the list of these heroes as some kind of axiom of holiness or heroism. This is just a drop in the sea of those people who are making history now,” concludes the photographer.
The texts for the pictures were prepared by Nastya Stanko, the project was produced by Valeria Guseva. The photobook has been printed at ist publishing house, where the pre-sale is currently underway. In addition, the publication can be purchased on the Saint Javelin website, where 30% of the net sales proceeds go to the purchase of tactical medical equipment for the Armed Forces at the initiative of the World Congress of Ukrainians Unite with Ukraine. Also, some of the portraits from the book until May 29 can be seen in the Kyiv gallery The Naked Room.
Recall, recently Russians blocked the website of Sasha Maslov and two other Ukrainian documentarians: Elena Grom and Mstislava Chernova. The web resources of three Ukrainian documentarians, members of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers have been banned in the Russian Federation with all domains and subdomains.
Sasha Maslov was born in Kharkov. He lives and works in New York. His works have been presented at various venues in Europe and the United States. Collaborates with well-known publications, including The NewYorker, Guardian, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Forbes and others. In his free time, he is engaged in his personal projects, the largest of which today is the project “Veterans”, for which in 5 years the photographer has visited more than 20 countries of the world.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
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Ukrainian-American photographer from Kharkiv, UAPP participant Sasha Maslov together with the Canadian-Ukrainian project Saint Javelin presented the photobook “SAINTS” (translated from English — “saints” — ed.). This is a publication about the personal sacrifice of people who decided to resist the brutal Russian invasion, which the whole world has been watching since February 24, 2024 until now.
“SAINTS” presents photos of more than 100 heroes who contributed to the defense of Ukraine during the war. These are military, volunteers, journalists, artists, etc. Foreigners are also on the list. Some of the characters in the book have already died in the war.
Sasha Maslov explains why she calls her heroes “saints”: “I always immediately start defending critics of this name because I understand perfectly well: the name “Saints” can be interpreted in different ways. I don't think there are saints among us. I don't think anyone can be a saint, I'm not trying to canonise the people who are in the book, but the fact is that the people who are now going to self-sacrifice on this scale are the people that the streets will be called in the future. These are the people we will thank for a long time to come. Maybe it's a pretty ambitious name, but I wanted to show in this way the spectrum of what's happening right now before our eyes.”
The cover of the edition was also chosen not by chance. The photographer says that the image presented is “fairly anonymous and at the same time summarizes the project.” “Of course, it is very difficult to do this, but, I think, this photo copes with this mission. Plus, it's a good photo that I just love,” says Sasha.
The photographer emphasizes that the characters in the photo book are a small part of the people who are supposed to be there. Some of them, he did not have time to photograph because of the death, someone did not find time, and someone could not agree.
I wish there were more characters in the book. But I also want to note that we should not take the list of these heroes as some kind of axiom of holiness or heroism. This is just a drop in the sea of those people who are making history now,” concludes the photographer.
The texts for the pictures were prepared by Nastya Stanko, the project was produced by Valeria Guseva. The photobook has been printed at ist publishing house, where the pre-sale is currently underway. In addition, the publication can be purchased on the Saint Javelin website, where 30% of the net sales proceeds go to the purchase of tactical medical equipment for the Armed Forces at the initiative of the World Congress of Ukrainians Unite with Ukraine. Also, some of the portraits from the book until May 29 can be seen in the Kyiv gallery The Naked Room.
Recall, recently Russians blocked the website of Sasha Maslov and two other Ukrainian documentarians: Elena Grom and Mstislava Chernova. The web resources of three Ukrainian documentarians, members of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers have been banned in the Russian Federation with all domains and subdomains.
Sasha Maslov was born in Kharkov. He lives and works in New York. His works have been presented at various venues in Europe and the United States. Collaborates with well-known publications, including The NewYorker, Guardian, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Forbes and others. In his free time, he is engaged in his personal projects, the largest of which today is the project “Veterans”, for which in 5 years the photographer has visited more than 20 countries of the world.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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