Imagine being forced to leave everything behind, your entire life shattered in an instant. How would you even begin to answer the simple question, 'How are you?' This is the haunting reality Maryna Syrovatka captures in her powerful debut photobook, Don’t Worry, I’m Fine. But here's where it gets even more poignant: through intimate portraits and personal narratives, Syrovatka doesn’t just document displacement—she invites us to sit with the silence, the unspoken weight of loss, and the quiet resilience of those whose lives were irrevocably divided into 'before' and 'after.'
Published in October 2025 as a limited edition of 500 copies, this self-published work is more than a book; it’s a time capsule of human experience. Between 2022 and 2024, Syrovatka welcomed Ukrainians who had fled their homes to her Bratislava studio. In this neutral, stripped-down setting, she created a space where the focus was solely on the individual—their stories, their memories, their survival. The result? Over one hundred portraits and forty personal narratives woven together with serene cityscapes, forming a visual diary that contrasts the tranquility of everyday scenes with the profound upheaval of war. And this is the part most people miss: the book isn’t just about loss; it’s about how we redefine 'normal' in the face of unimaginable change.
Collaborating with Dutch designer Sybren Kuiper (-SYB-), Syrovatka crafted a 340-page hardcover masterpiece measuring 240 x 320 mm. Produced across workshops in Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Germany, the book is a testament to the power of art to preserve memory and spark dialogue. But here’s the controversial question: Can a photobook ever truly capture the depth of trauma, or does it risk reducing lived experiences to mere images and words? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Don’t Worry, I’m Fine is available for purchase directly from the artist at https://unboxed.sk/books/dont-worry-m-fine. With its ISBN 978-80-570-6748-1, this first edition is not just a collection of photographs—it’s a conversation starter, a mirror to our shared humanity, and a reminder that sometimes, the most profound stories are told in silence.
