Anemona Knut

I was born in communist Poland to a couple of free-spirited artists. My father

introduced me to photography from an early age, using an old Praktica. He would

transform our bathroom into a darkroom and teach me the magic of images slowly

appearing on paper.

Professionally, I work in the field of Global Risk Management, focusing on

operational risk and training for professionals operating in high-risk and hostile

environments.

As a photographer, I take a cinematic approach to documentary. While my work

addresses timely and important issues, my visual language leans more toward the

poetic than the journalistic. I explore human nature and the future of humanity —

reflecting on who we are now and what might lead us toward better times. My work

investigates the relationships people form with each other, with themselves, and with

the natural world. I am thoroughly inspired by my three sons, and they also feature in

my photography a lot.

Though I’ve worked with cameras all my life, I only began sharing my work with a

wider audience in 2022. Since then, my photographs have been published in Portrait

of Britain Vol. 6 and featured in ArtDoc Magazine. I’ve also exhibited across Europe

as part of various group shows.

Instagram: @anemonkey

“praxinoscope” number 6

This long-term collaborative documentary project offers a deeply personal

perspective on the lives of three teenage girls who fled the war in Ukraine in

early 2022, arriving in the UK with their mothers.

In unfamiliar surroundings, they face the ongoing challenge of rebuilding their lives in

a foreign land while quietly navigating resilience amid the universal struggles of

adolescence — the need to be seen, understood, and accepted.

This project is not merely a documentation; it is a collaboration. The girls often

suggest the frames, poses, costumes, and styling themselves. They want to look like

any other teenagers — to create beautiful, expressive images that reflect how they

wish to be perceived. They are full of life and inner beauty, they are playful and

engaged. But the weight of the situation back home always drags behind.

The enigmatic character of their inner worlds is hidden behind cinematic

compositions and the luminous beauty of youth — reminding us that the heaviest

burdens are often carried behind a smile.

Together with me, they tell their stories as partners in the project, offering an honest,

intimate view of adaptation, courage, and resilience.

In this edit, I’ve included an image of Antony Gormley’s statue that stands on the

English shore not far from where we live. This solitary figure faces Europe,

submerged by the high tide twice a day. His quiet melancholy reflects the ever-

present longing for a home left behind in war.