The Village’s Absent Population

The empty houses and delayed mail portray displacement as a continuing social condition rather than a single moment of flight.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Doors Boarded Shut

Doors Boarded Shut Departure leaves a visible trace Families leave Little Starhorodivka for Russia and other parts of Ukraine, and the remaining houses are boarded or abandoned. Their belongings and gardens persist without the people who made them useful. A village between futures Sergeyich believes people may return when the shelling and mines stop. His hope keeps the village socially imaginable even as it becomes nearly empty in practice.

The Owners Are Alive

The Owners Are Alive A message on a boarded home Sergeyich sees a neighbor’s inscription declaring that the owners are alive. The words reassure him, although there is no way to know when or whether they will return. Hope survives as a sign The simple statement gives a human presence to an otherwise silent street. It also shows how little evidence the remaining residents have about the lives of those who fled.

Letters for Empty Homes

Letters for Empty Homes Mail reaches absent recipients Sergeyich delivers letters to houses whose owners have been gone for years. He places them in letterboxes and under doors as though the households might still answer. A community preserved on paper The act recognizes that departure does not erase membership in the village. The letters wait in place of the people, making return seem possible without promising it.

the first year after the fighting begins

a winter morning after the shelling

the afternoon of the Postal Ceasefire