599 - Victoria Lyubchenko - Portraits of Unspoken Trust

Victoria Lyubchenko brings a deeply human perspective to portrait photography. Originally from the Ukraine, she built a career photographing events, families, fashion, and magazine and book covers before moving to North Dakota in 2024 in search of safety and peace.

Now based in Mandan, her work is regularly featured in local galleries, including the Bismarck Downtown Artist Collective, and has appeared in multiple exhibitions. Her photographs have also reached international audiences, with exhibitions in Glasgow, Paris, and New York, as well as recognition and medals from several European photography competitions.

In my series Portraits of Unspoken Trust, displayed in the Mandan Art Alley, I share three large portraits, almost two meters tall, printed on metal so they can stand in the wind and weather for many years. When I first saw them installed, bigger than me, I felt proud. The details, the skin tones. The sharpness–everything mattered. I wanted these women to feel present, strong, impossible to ignore.

Two of the women live here in North Dakota, including a Native American girl I photographed in my studio in Mandan. The third wears traditional Ukrainian clothing and lives in Ukraine now. We stay in contact. I hope she is safe. Every day there are drones and rockets. When I photograph, I do not like fake emotion. I tell my model, “Do not pose for me. Just be yourself.” When she relaxes, when she is a little tired, when she forgets the camera, that is when the truth appears.

The title came from what I see here. North Dakota is not what many people imagine. It has a deep history, deep community, and many nationalities. So many people work quietly. They bring their stories, their traditions, their children, their gifts. They help this land grow, but nobody speaks about them. This is unspoken trust.

I chose women because women give life. We worry for our children. Maybe we think more about peace. I do not want to show only beauty. I want people to stop, even for one minute, and remember: we are different in skin, in culture, in language, but we can live with open hearts.

I came here in 2024. I never thought I would be a refugee. For me, it was a shock. Starting from zero teaches you patience. Love in our heart can help us survive the world.