What remains of home when your own country becomes the perpetrator? Who do you become when your own family suddenly feels foreign? How can you find a common language when there are no more words?

Born in Russia in Siberia, documentary photographer Aliona Kardash came to Germany in 2019. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, she has doubted that she still understands her home country.

The week after the war began, she wrote a letter to her parents living in Russia, which she never sent. The longer the war lasts, the further apart their lives become. At Christmas 2022, Aliona returned for the first time to see her parents and capture the feelings that accompany them: Pain, the loss of identity and home and love for people who believe in a different reality. The work "Zuhause riecht es nach Rauch" is a visual diary that shows the fading reality that appears to be the same at first glance, but which shows deep wounds and scars when you look beneath the surface.

Location

Kulturort Depot Mittelhalle | Immermannstraße 29, 44147 Dortmund

Period

04.04.-31.05.2025

Opening

Soft Opening: 03.04.2025, 19:00

Opening hours

Freely accessible during the opening hours of the house.

Admission

free

Note

Plattform 3 cannot be visited free of charge during events with admission in the hall!

Photo: Aliona Kardash