Ukrainian - American photographer Sasha Maslov, originally from Kharkiv and a member of the UAPF, together with the Canadian - Ukrainian project Saint Javelin, presented the photo book “SAINTS” (translated from English as “saints” — Ed.). This publication is about the personal sacrifice of people who chose to stand up to the brutal Russian invasion, which the whole world has been watching since February 24, 2024, and to this day.
“SAINTS” features photographs of more than 100 heroes who contributed to the defense of Ukraine during the war. They include service members, volunteers, journalists, artists, and others. The list also includes foreigners. Some of the book’s heroes have already been killed in the war.
Sasha Maslov explains why he calls his heroes “saints”:
“I always immediately start defending critics of this title because I understand perfectly well that the title ‘Saints’ can be interpreted in different ways. I don’t believe there are saints among us. I don’t believe that anyone can be a saint; I’m not trying to canonize the people who are in the book. But the point is that people who are now making sacrifices on this scale are the people after whom streets will be named in the future. These are the people we will be thanking for a long time. Perhaps it’s a rather ambitious title, but in this way I wanted to show the range of what is happening right now before our eyes.”
The cover image was also chosen for a reason. The photographer says the featured photo is “anonymous enough and at the same time captures the project in a generalized way.”
“Of course, it’s very hard to do this, but it seems to me that this photo accomplishes that mission. Besides, it’s a good photograph that I simply like,” says Sasha.
The photographer emphasizes that the heroes featured in the photo book are only a small part of the people who should be there. He didn’t manage to photograph some of them because they were killed, some didn’t have the time, and with others it wasn’t possible to decide.
“I wish there were more heroes in the book. But I also want to note that you shouldn’t take this list of heroes as some kind of axiom of sainthood or heroism. It’s only a drop in the ocean compared to the people who are making history right now,” the photographer concludes.
The texts accompanying the photographs were prepared by Nastia Stanko, and the project was produced by Valeriia Husieva. The photo book was published by ist publishing, where pre-orders are currently open. In addition, the book can be purchased on the Saint Javelin website, where 30% of net profits from sales will be directed toward purchasing tactical medical equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the World Congress of Ukrainians’ Unite with Ukraine initiative. Also, some of the portraits from the book can be seen at Kyiv’s The Naked Room gallery until May 29.
Sasha Maslov was born in Kharkiv. He lives and works in New York. His work has been shown at various venues across Europe and the United States. He collaborates with well-known publications, including The New Yorker, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Forbes, and others. In his free time, he works on personal projects, the largest of which to date is the “Veterans” project, for which the photographer has visited more than 20 countries over five years.
Worked on the piece:
Topic researcher, author: Vira Labych
Literary editor: Yuliia Futei
