When Anastasia Taylor-Lind arrived in central Kiev on 1 February 2014, Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) was under siege, surrounded by police loyal to the government. Rising tensions culminated in the worst day of violence on 20 February and the following day President Yanokovych fled Ukraine. In all, three months of protests resulted in 112 confirmed dead, and many more missing.
Taylor-Lind’s portraits have been uniformly shot against the black backdrop of her improvised studio, removing them from the context of the barricades just a few feet away. The ‘fighters’ are identified by their homemade body armour, and the ‘mourners’ by the bunches of flowers they have brought to pay their respects to the dead. Captured with an air of stillness and reflection, these photographs show the individuals involved in, and impacted by, the unrest.
Taylor-Lind will be joined in conversation by Olivier Laurent, the editor of TIME’s LightBox.
Maidan – Portraits from the Black Square will be published in its entirety by GOST Books in July 2014. Join Taylor-Lind for the official launch and signing on the book at the club on Thursday 24 July, from 6:30PM. For more details, see here.
Anastasia Taylor-Lind and Olivier Laurent will be delivering a day-long workshop looking at engaging with social media for photographers at the Frontline Club on Saturday 16 August 2014, 10:00AM – 5:00PM. For more details, see here.
