Margo Ovcharenko’s project “With Feathers” draws its title from Emily Dickinson's poem "'Hope' is the thing with feathers," evoking the fragility associated with survival and resilience. This body of work combines photographs and text to explore themes of war, displacement, and the search for hope amidst turmoil. The images are presented in austere black or metallic frames, drawing on conceptual photography that emphasize the factual and indexical even when the work is deeply diaristic and personal. This formal approach frames the experience in a way that feels almost scientific and detached, allowing viewers to process the visual information methodically. The emotional resonance unfolds as the accompanying text interacts with the images, revealing layers of meaning at the viewer’s own pace.
Symbolic imagery of flightless birds—specifically ostriches—is central to the project’s visual language. Encountered during moments of personal crisis, these birds provided emotional support to the artist during her mental health struggles. The metaphor of the ostrich aligns with contemporary photography’s use of allegory to convey complex emotional states, embodying vulnerability, containment, and resilience.
The project’s political dimension is rooted in a place called “Mezhyhirya Park”, a site that has become a museum displaying the riches and corruption of a former Ukrainian president. Ovcharenko’s last visit to this location before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine introduces a critical dialogue between her personal experience and political commentary, resonating with contemporary photography’s interrogation of power structures and its capacity to evoke collective memory. Once a symbol of opulence within a corrupt regime, the ostrich now reflects the entrapment and destruction endured by civilians under the weight of war—a visual metaphor for the psychological toll of displacement.
By situating “With Feathers” within contemporary art theory—particularly photography’s dual role as a personal and political document—the project examines how visual narratives bear witness to trauma and serve as a means of processing it. This work contributes to ongoing discussions about the role of images in mediating personal experience, shaping communal identity, and preserving historical memory.
Margo Ovcharenko’s With Feathers uses photography and text to recount the artist's personal experience with war and displacement. Flightless birds symbolize fragility and survival juxtaposed with personal and political memory in her text.
Symbolic imagery of flightless birds—specifically ostriches—is central to the project’s visual language. Encountered during moments of personal crisis, these birds provided emotional support to the artist during her mental health struggles. The metaphor of the ostrich aligns with contemporary photography’s use of allegory to convey complex emotional states, embodying vulnerability, containment, and resilience.
The project’s political dimension is rooted in a place called “Mezhyhirya Park”, a site that has become a museum displaying the riches and corruption of a former Ukrainian president. Ovcharenko’s last visit to this location before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine introduces a critical dialogue between her personal experience and political commentary, resonating with contemporary photography’s interrogation of power structures and its capacity to evoke collective memory. Once a symbol of opulence within a corrupt regime, the ostrich now reflects the entrapment and destruction endured by civilians under the weight of war—a visual metaphor for the psychological toll of displacement.
By situating “With Feathers” within contemporary art theory—particularly photography’s dual role as a personal and political document—the project examines how visual narratives bear witness to trauma and serve as a means of processing it. This work contributes to ongoing discussions about the role of images in mediating personal experience, shaping communal identity, and preserving historical memory.
Margo Ovcharenko’s With Feathers uses photography and text to recount the artist's personal experience with war and displacement. Flightless birds symbolize fragility and survival juxtaposed with personal and political memory in her text.