Zabarivka is a village of 200 in northern Ukraine, 50 kilometers from the border with Belarus. Kotjuh's photos offer a window into the simple, everyday life of this small village and its people over the years.

The exhibition "Ukraine, My Arcadia" takes its name from a poem of the same name by Kotjuh's brother, writer Igor Kotjuh.

According to the photographer, you'll still see old milk trucks and ambulances there, and villagers still milk their cows and then bring the buckets of milk to the milk stand.

"These photos were taken in 2009, when I intentionally visited the village for the first time," he recalled. "I was already a photographer at that point, so I went around the village photographing people. I returned in 2010, 2011 and 2012 as well, and visited during every season. It was a very exciting challenge for me."

Kotjuh would end up taking more than 15,000 photos of Ukrainian village life over the years, from which he selected 40 to exhibit at the art gallery at Türi Cultural Center.

Most of these photos are candid shots, with smiling people still full of hope. But now, mainly due to the war, everything has changed in the village where the photographer spent his childhood.

"Older people are still dying, young folks are getting married and the villages are dying out," he acknowledged. "The time I spent photographing there, those were the last golden days."

Dmitri Kotjuh was born in Võru. He has worked as a press photographer for 18 years, and won several awards in the field.

"Ukraine, My Arcadia" will remain open at the Türi Cultural Center gallery through Sunday, December 1.

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