Sophia Gera and Kamila Yanar
Sophia Gera is a multidisciplinary artist from Donetsk working at the intersection of cinema, performance, and cultural activism. She studied at the Cinematography Department of the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University. In 2021, she co-founded the art project INAKSHE, along with two artists from Donetsk, which is dedicated to exploring the experience of occupation through artistic practices. In 2023, she became a co-founder of Alarm Productions, an independent film company focused on examining and highlighting subtle socio-personal issues and addressing them through creative documentary and hybrid films.
Kamila Yanar is a Ukrainian artist from Shakhtarsk, Donetsk Oblast. She works with different media, such as video, photography, and installation. Most of her works address themes of human identity, forced migrations, childhood, and coming of age. She studied at Donetsk Art College and the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. She also worked as an art teacher at the Aza Nizi Maza studio.
Archive to Archive, 2025
Video, 27 min.
This work contains strong language
Kamila Yanar and Sophia Gera have known each other since their time living in Donetsk, where they first met between 2012–2013. Though their experiences differ, they share a common loss that became the foundation for a deeper dialogue between them. The artists began to meet regularly in 2025 and revisit their personal archives — a re-traumatizing ritual of sorts, and one that compelled them to articulate what was lost, misunderstood, or buried in silence. Over the eleven years since the occupation of Donetsk, their memories have gradually become part of the very fabric of their lives — through attempts to rebuild, ‘let go’, or ‘relive’ the past over and over again. These memories have brought with them feelings of vulnerability and disconnection from home.
In response to the stigmatization of people from Donetsk and Luhansk — something they have encountered repeatedly — the artists developed a sense of sisterhood and an ongoing dialogue that helped them endure the most painful experiences. Their work invites viewers to stand on the other side of the archive, emphasizing its fragility while raising questions about the boundaries of empathy and the impossibility of fully sharing another’s experience.
Kamila Yanar is a Ukrainian artist from Shakhtarsk, Donetsk oblast. She works with different media, such as video, photography, and installation. Most of her works address themes of human identity, forced migration, childhood, and coming of age. She studied at the Donetsk Art College and the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. She also worked as an art teacher at the Aza Nizi Maza studio.
Sophia Gera is a multidisciplinary artist from Donetsk working at the intersection of cinema, performance, and cultural activism. She studied at the Cinematography Department of the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University. In 2021, she co-founded the art project INAKSHE, along with two artists from Donetsk, which is dedicated to exploring the experience of occupation through artistic practices. In 2023, she became a co-founder of Alarm Productions, an independent film company focused on examining and highlighting subtle socio-personal issues and addressing them through creative documentary and hybrid films.