Our Sincere Toils
Originally released in 2015, photographer Tom Sussex releases a second edition of his photobook Our Sincere Toils, featuring images shot in Ukraine in 2014. The second edition is limited to 200 copies and includes previously unseen photographs and extras; 100% of proceeds will be donated to support local families and children in Ukraine.
Text and Photography Tommy Sussex
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Ukraine has enjoyed its longest period of independence in centuries, but the nation has never ceased to question which foreign power they should be aligned with. Before the presidential elections of 2004, the answer had been Russia but everything changed with the street protests of the Orange Revolution and the forced resignation of president-elect Yanukovych. Sadly, the pro-European government that took control was plagued by scandal, corruption and internal disagreements. In 2010, Yanukovych returned to power in an election deemed free and fair. In November 2013, I visited Western Ukraine. Spending time with Ukrainian people my own age, I began to understand the problems and restrictions they faced. During this period, I witnessed Ukraine’s response to the European trade deal U-turn that had enormous economic and political implications. This experience resulted in a fascination with the culture and politics of Ukraine, and I decided to go back to the country to continue observing and exploring this complex and troubled nation. I returned to Kyiv on the 21st February 2014, the day after more than one hundred pro-European militants were shot dead by government forces and the course of Ukraine’s history irrevocably altered. In the second part of this project, I travelled across the country, exploring and observing life outside the Euro Maidan protest site. I wanted to gain an insight into how ordinary Ukrainian people sought to free themselves from corruption and exploitation.
A Pro European Militant Smokes inisde the Euromaidan Protest Encampment
“Spending time with Ukrainian people my own age, I began to understand the problems and restrictions they faced.”
Four Molotov Cocktails Photographed in Central Kyiv 2013
Bullet Hole - Euromaidan Protest Encampment
Central Kyiv January 2014
Protesters protect a statue of Ukrainian football manager Valeriy Lobanovsky from damage with sheets - Hrushevskoho Street Central Kyiv February 2014
My imagery represents a personal record of the everyday life of individuals against the backdrop of Ukraine’s uprising. I was interested in the human details of a country going through a swift revolution and the subsequent annexation of part of its territory. These photographs contemplate the aftermath of Ukraine’s bloody uprising that led to the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovich and the unpredictable future facing the people I met on this journey.
Local Community Defense Forces Torched a bus full of pro Yanukovich protesters on route to Kyiv Outskirts of Kyiv Oblast January 2014
Oleksiy taken in Brovary Ukraine
Bricks used as missiles against Police are reused as memorial shrines to those killed in the protests in Kyiv January 2014
Support Ukraine Book Sale - SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINE March 2022
Please join me to raise money for the families and individuals facing extreme circumstances. 100% of profits will be donated to www.defendukraine.org verified charities to help families and children caught in the developing conflict I have released the second edition of my O.S.T Book. This book was originally released in 2015 and the first 200 editions sold shortly after. The second edition has some additional unseen photographs and extras.
Available via link below.
To join to raise money for the families and individuals facing extreme circumstances. 100% of profits will be donated to www.defendukraine.org verified charities to help families and children caught in the developing conflict
About Tommy
Tommy Sussex is an editorial, documentary, and portrait photographer currently living and working in London. The images he makes attempt to render an individual social reality that carries political weight. His process focuses on self-experience and attempts to navigate that which falls outside of expected photographic reportage, to encompass symbolic gestures and abstracted scenarios.
His recent projects have documented the anti-racism demonstrations in London and the impact of the Pandemic in his community. Tom specialises in medium format film photography.
To see more of his work, visit his website or follow him on Instagram
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