The
Artist
Sasha Velichko
Lives and Works in
Warsaw, Poland
Sasha Velichko (b. 1993, Slonim, Belarus) is a research-based artist whose practice spans photography, installation and new media. Her work investigates propaganda, post-truth, manipulations and trauma. Trained in radiophysics, she integrates scientific logic and analytical methods into her artistic process. After being politically convicted and persecuted in Belarus, she was forced to flee the country(2021) and has lived in political exile in Warsaw. Her projects have been exhibited internationally: Zachęta – National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, Circulation(s) Festival, Singapore International Photography Festival. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at Les Boutographies(2025), Photo Essay Award at SEEEU Festival in Tokyo (2025), finalist of the Star Photobook Dummy Award (2025), shortlisted for the Images Vevey Book Award(2025). Sasha is represented by Jednostka Gallery.
Projects
2023
State of Denial
“In Belarus, a repressive dictatorship prevails, suppressing freedom of expression. Government-controlled media conceals information about the growing number of political prisoners, the alarming rate of disappearances, and the ineffectiveness of laws and the constitution in safeguarding individual rights.
The project explores the phenomenon of everyday digital life through interactions between humans and media channels. In contemporary society, saturated with countless distractions competing for our attention, it has become commonplace to avert our gaze from images that evoke discomfort.
The body of work is divided into two parts. The first presents a selection of absurd and disturbing stories of detentions in Belarus. I researched these cases and created staged photographs based on them. In a dictatorial country, people are imprisoned for speaking the Belarusian language, praying, or wearing white-red-white clothing—the colors of our historical flag, now labeled as extremist.
In the second part, I use news headlines published on the specific dates of these arrests. A neural network used each headline as input to generate corresponding images. Numerous irrelevant and peculiar news stories appeared on the same days as the arrests. For each case, I selected twelve headlines published on the day of the arrest to show how, in moments of crisis, propaganda produces visual and informational noise.
Through this work, I aim to demonstrate how the agenda seeks to divert our attention away from crucial issues. I also explore our tendency to avoid confronting meaningful problems and instead occupy our minds with superficial entertainment content.” [Sasha Velichko]
Sasha Velichko
was nominated by
Fotofestiwal Lodz
in
Show all projects
Each year every member of the FUTURES European Photography Platform nominates a set of artists and projects to become part of the FUTURES network.
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I’ve always loved photography, even if it sounds like a cliche. The first photos I took, I did without knowing how to do that, without paying any attention to framing, subject or composition. After a while, I began to understand what is happening in the space between me as a photographer and the subject I was photographing. And many years later, I also understood why I love to photograph. To communicate. A message, a concept, an emotion.
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