Ukrainian family stars in Portrait of Britain

The family decided to wear traditional Ukrainian clothes as the camera looked 'old fashioned'

A Ukrainian family who feature in a photograph named as one of the winners in the Portrait of Britain awards have said friends are spotting the image around the country.

The Zhyhunovas lived in Western Ukraine but fled the Russian invasion in 2023 and settled in Nottingham as they had relatives here.

They were pictured wearing traditional costume by photographer Ciaran Spencer at the local branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.

Liudmyla Zhyhunova said: "It's so nice when someone in another city like Leicester or somewhere sends us a message to say 'We saw your picture'."

The image has been displayed at locations across the UK including St Pancras railway station

Portrait of Britain is an annual photography award run by the British Journal of Photography which, it says, focusses on "the essence of the UK through portraiture, elevating voices from marginalised communities, and celebrating the resilience of a united, diverse nation".

The image can currently be seen, along with 100 other winners, all over the UK on digital billboards.

It features Mrs Zhyhunova, her mother Olha Pidhorodetska and her two children Vladyslav and Yeva.

Mrs Zhyhunova said she saw a notice at the Ukrainian centre asking for families for a photography project.

'So surprised'

She said: "The photographer was using old cameras so I thought it would be good to dress in an old style, so we put on the traditional Ukrainian clothes.

"We were then asked if the picture could be shared but we were so surprised to hear it would be used in the competition - we read the message again and again.

"Though we yet don't have a copy of the picture for ourselves!".

She initially got a job in a shop in Victoria Centre but and thanked the staff for putting up with her bad English.

Mrs Zhyhunova now works in a city centre restaurant and said "my English is better, so I am much easier to work with".

Enjoying parks

The family lives with her brother and his family, meaning there are nine in the house.

While admitting this is hard, Mrs Zhyhunova said they enjoy Nottingham, with her son hoping to play for Notts County football club.

She said: "Nottingham is such a nice place.

"When in Ukraine, when I was in a bad mood, I would walk in the park and here in Nottingham there are such nice parks to go in.

"In England there are so many different and nice places to go and places to see the nature."

'History repeating'

Photographer Ciaran Spencer said he took images of the Ukrainian centre when he was a photography student in the city in 2001.

He was struck by the similarities between the two projects.

"Sadly I would say the circumstances are sort of the same.

"The people I photographed in 2001 were quite elderly at the time but they had all been displaced by World War Two.

"When I visited in 2024 a whole new set of people had arrived looking for refuge and community.

"So the circumstances were similar and there was a real sense of history repeating."