Mykolayiv photographer Serhiy Melnychenko has won the PhEST International Award at the 11th photography and art festival in the city of Monopoli, Italy.
The PhEST International Award 2026 competition is being held as part of the 11th International Photography and Art Festival in Italy.
“It seems to me it’s very important that an international audience sees how our servicemen and servicewomen work and the conditions they live in,” the photographer says.
To create the project, Melnychenko handed out disposable film cameras to service members. He did not know what exactly they would capture until the film was developed. This approach became the foundation of the entire series.
Twenty-one service members from different sectors took part in the project. For some participants, shooting became a way to break up the routine of service—to capture what usually goes unnoticed, the artist says.
Films will be shown at exhibitions in Italy, in Sweden in the autumn, and the exhibition is currently on view in Greece, Melnychenko noted.