Empty Beds, an exhibition dedicated to Ukrainian children abducted by Russian troops during the war, has opened in New York. The exhibition consists of a 30-meter-long monumental photographic work by photographer Phil Buehler, which highlights the problem of the abduction of about 20 thousand Ukrainian children.
This was report by the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York.
The installation includes a life-size mural with images of the beds of children who have been returned home. At the opening of the exhibition, activists used chairs and toys from the destroyed houses in Borodyanka, as well as the soft sound of Ukrainian lullabies. Each photo is accompanied by stories of abducted children.
Phil Buehler said the idea for the exhibition came after his trip to Ukraine, where he met with children who had returned from the occupied territories. He hopes the project will draw international attention to this tragedy and stimulate efforts to bring the abducted children home.
"I could only imagine the grief and suffering of these parents as they looked at their child's empty bed, not knowing where the children were and if they would ever be able to hold them again and read them their favorite bedtime story," the artist said.
The artist created the mural in collaboration with Bird of Light Ukraine. The exhibition is part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative with the participation of Save Ukraine and the Ukrainian Child Rights Network.
"The story of 19,546 abducted Ukrainian children. Only 994 managed to return," reads the description.
The exhibition runs from October 26 to November 30.
Photos: Yulia Zemlyak, Ulyana Storoshchuk
Author: Danylo Pievchev