©Vollodymyr Voznyy, Forgotten Echo, A. This is my daughter. The seashell acts as a ‘conductor’—a link to the distant sea and her ancestors. In many cultures, the shell symbolizes not only journeys but also the voice of the past and memory passed down through time. It is like a ‘telephone’ to the roots of her lineage.

Congratulations to Vollodymyr Voznyy for being selected for CENTER’s Environmental Award recognizing his project, Horizons. The CENTER Awards recognize outstanding images, singular or part of a series. The Environmental Award recognizes work focusing on the state of the environment. Topics may include, but are not limited to, conservation, biodiversity, ecology, climate change or other issues concerning the natural world.

The Award includes Review Santa Fe participation, Publication in LENSCRATCH, Professional Development Seminars access, Inclusion in the printed Program Guide, and Inclusion in the CENTER Winners Gallery & Archive.

Juror: Dominique Hildebrand, Climate & Environment Photo Assignment Editor, The Washington Post shares her thoughts on the selection:

As a juror for this year’s CENTER Environmental Award, I had the pleasure of experiencing entries that revealed both the beauty of our world and the harm humanity inflicts upon it. I was struck by the many ways lens-based artists expressed their relationships to the environment through both technique and narrative.

At the heart of the strongest work was a clear understanding of the complex relationship between people and the planet. This connection is what draws viewers in. It is how visual storytelling builds empathy, deepens understanding, and inspires action. For me, it was essential that the selected project demonstrate not only technical strength, but a nuanced and compelling portrayal of this relationship.

No project achieved this more effectively than Volodymyr Voznyy’s Horizons. Through layered and deliberate imagery, the work reveals the complex bond between a community and its environment. Like many towns shaped by extractive industries, this is a relationship defined by both dependence and damage. The photographs convey a palpable sense of harmony, while also reflecting loss. Each image is dynamic, inviting sustained attention and asking the viewer to sit with the tension between connection and consequence.

There are many ways to depict the beauty of the natural world, just as there are many ways to portray its destruction. What distinguishes Horizons is its ability to exist in the space between, where complexity, contradiction, and lived experience come into focus. It is within this space that the most powerful and enduring environmental storytelling emerges.

Juror Bio:

Dominique Hildebrand commissions and curates visual narratives that illuminate the pressing environmental challenges of our time. Prior to joining The Post, Dominique was a photo editor at National Geographic, where she led multi-platform projects, including the September 2022 cover feature on America’s land conservation strategy. Dominique was named a finalist for Visual Editor of the year by POYi in 2025, and she was a part of the team nominated as a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting.

©Vollodymyr Voznyy, The Living Room, A space where time has stood still. The living room of a grandmother who lived her entire life in Boryslav is the physical embodiment of those very ‘roots.’ Polished furniture, bookshelves, and the light streaming from the window create an atmosphere of continuity. This is the environment that shaped the family’s identity, where every object preserves the energy of years gone by.

Horizons

Nearly every month, my little daughter and I would visit Boryslav, where my wife’s grandmother had lived her entire life. The incredible atmosphere of these lands interested me and made me delve deeper into its history. Among the classics of Ukrainian literature, you can find Ivan Franko’s ‘Borislav Laughs’ and ‘Boa Constrictor.’ After revisiting these works, I felt compelled to share the story of Boryslav and its people, as well as my feelings and emotions. This is how ‘Horizons’ my series of photographs, was born. It demonstrates intricate the relationships between people and nature while showcasing the contrasting historical facets of this city. Time has ruthlessly changed Boryslav’s face. Once a top-3 player in global oil production, it has now become a remote province living through the harsh consequences of industrial activity. This city led me to experiment with medium format photography to avoid any accidents and to down the process of creating a picture. I also took the time to become acquainted with the city and its residents – a place that had held little significance for me before my daughter’s birth. Today, Boryslav is intertwined family’s history and my daughter’s earliest memories.

MEDIUM
The project was shot on 6×7 medium format film. Therefore, for the exhibition, I would like to produce prints no smaller than 40×50 cm. However, I am open to any suggestions you may have regarding the display and mounting of the works.

©Vollodymyr Voznyy, The photo was taken at the Museum of the Oil and Gas Industry of Ukraine in Boryslav. In this space, the city’s history stops being a legend and becomes something tangible. The image speaks to the connection with the earth, reminding us how the city’s roots are intertwined with the depths of the soil. The man leaning over the model seems to be deciphering the secrets of the past and the principles by which his ancestors lived in the era when Boryslav was known as the ‘Galician Eldorado.’ Model, The photo was taken at the Museum of the Oil and Gas Industry of Ukraine in Boryslav. In this space, the city’s history stops being a legend and becomes something tangible. The image speaks to the connection with the earth, reminding us how the city’s roots are intertwined with the depths of the soil. The man leaning over the model seems to be deciphering the secrets of the past and the principles by which his ancestors lived in the era when Boryslav was known as the ‘Galician Eldorado.’

Vollodymyr Voznyy  is a Lviv-based photographer, a member of the National Union of Photo Artists of Ukraine, and a photo project curator at the Lviv Municipal Art Center. Working across the genres of portrait, documentary, and conceptual photography, Voznyy focuses on profound social themes and the exploration of human identity. His work examines how an individual’s personality is shaped by historical contexts and the surrounding environment. Through his projects, Volodymyr seeks to offer surprising alternative perspectives on everyday objects and events, encouraging viewers to reconnect with their roots and gain a deeper understanding of themselves.

Instagram: @voznyyy

©Vollodymyr Voznyy, The Tysmenytsia river, The Tysmenytsia River appears here not as a living artery of the city, but as a cluttered, dry bed suffering from chronic water scarcity and oil pollution. This is a visual testament to the ecological price Boryslav paid for its status as an industrial giant.

©Vollodymyr Voznyy, Breath of the Subsurface, A unique and surreal landscape of a Boryslav courtyard. In the middle of a snow-covered playground, right beneath the windows of an ordinary apartment building, iron pipes rise from the ground. These are part of a vacuum system designed to vent gas from sealed oil shafts to prevent explosive accumulations. Boryslav is the only city in the world built directly atop a commercial oil field, and these pipes are the lifelines protecting residents from the invisible dangers beneath their homes

©Vollodymyr Voznyy, The Dead One, This is a panorama of one of the oldest districts in Boryslav, known locally by the somber name ‘Pomerla’ (The Dead One). This is the very spot where the oil rush ignited in the 19th century, transforming a quiet village into the ‘Galician Eldorado.’ The name ‘Pomerla’ echoes the times when the land, exhausted by oil extraction, became uninhabitable, and the grueling labor in the shafts took the lives and health of thousands of workers. Today, the landscape is a mosaic of private homes, industrial remains, and thick greenery attempting to heal the scars of the past. For the series, this is the final point: from a child’s imagination and the seashell to the actual cradle of history—a place where every hill and every name breathes with the spirit of the ancestors.

©Vollodymyr Voznyy, The Spring, This photo captures a daily ritual of Boryslav residents. Since the city’s water supply follows a strict schedule, trips to the forest springs have become a part of life for every generation. The image shows the simple act of passing a bottle of clean water, symbolizing mutual aid and a shared way of life.

©Vollodymyr Voznyy, Entomological collection, Before us is a handmade entomological collection purchased at a flea market. Butterflies, beetles, and dragonflies, pinned to a simple wooden board, appear as a frozen attempt to document the biodiversity of a region that has been destroyed by the oil industry for decades.

©Vollodymyr Voznyy, Connection,What lies ahead for Boryslav—a city that exhausted its depths but continues to live on their fumes? The ‘breathing pipes’ in courtyards and dried-up riverbeds raise questions about survival that have no answers.