Uprooted
Lithuania
2025
On the 24 February 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered the greatest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. Within six weeks, 11 million people, i.e. a quarter of the Ukrainian population, were forced to leave their homes. This devastating war turned their daily lives upside down and left deep psychological scars that will affect both survivors and future generations. According to statistics, one in ten refugees suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), war bringing this rate to one in three. The symptoms include anxiety, panic attacks, nightmares and flashbacks. Women and children, who make up 90% of Ukrainian refugees, are particularly vulnerable. Uprooted tells the story of Ukrainian women and teenage girls who have escaped the war and now live in Kaunas, Lithuania, and depicts their resilience in the face of deep trauma and displacement.
With the support of the Lithuanian Culture Institute
In partnership with WhiteWall
Portfolio
About the artist
Born in 1988, Ieva Baltaduonyte is an art photographer whose practice delves into her personal experience of exile. Her work explores the theme of migration by focusing on its psychological consequences, such as displacement trauma and the in-between state. Ieva Baltaduonyte lived in Dublin for 17 years, before returning to Lithuania, her native country.