In early October, the WarUpClose virtual reality exhibition was held in Lansing, Michigan, USA, focusing on Russia’s war against Ukraine. The event was organized in cooperation with Nova Ukraine to draw attention to Russia’s aggression, call for accountability for its crimes, and highlight the need to return Ukrainian children who have been forcibly taken from their homes and families.
Mykola Omelchenko, project photographer, spoke about the event. According to him, VR technology allows people around the world to experience the consequences of the war directly, rather than seeing them only through photographs or television reports.
“Together with Nova Ukraine, we brought our VR exhibition to support an important mission — keeping attention on Russia’s war against Ukraine, calling for accountability, and demanding the return of Ukrainian children who have been taken from their homes and families.
For me, WarUpClose has never been just about photographs or 360° technology.
When a person puts on a VR headset and suddenly finds themselves standing in Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Kharkiv or Chernihiv, the war is no longer something happening far away on a television screen. You can look around. You can see the destroyed homes, schools and streets. You begin to understand what these places — and the people who lived there — have been through.
We created WarUpClose to preserve this reality and bring it directly to people around the world, without filters and without allowing these stories to disappear with time.
This time in Lansing, our message was also about the Ukrainian children who must be returned home.
I am grateful to Nova Ukraine, to everyone who helped organize this event, and to every person who came, watched, listened, asked questions and stood with Ukraine.
Every exhibition reminds me why we continue doing this work.
Ukraine must not be forgotten. The children must come home”, — Mykola Omelchenko
WarUpClose uses virtual reality technology to document the consequences of Russia’s aggression and preserve testimonies about Ukrainian cities devastated by the war. The Lansing exhibition placed particular emphasis on the issue of Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia.
