Photographer Yves Lacroix is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘Through the cracks within us light penetrates’. To see Yves’ body of work, click on any photograph.

From Darkness, Light Emerges.

Since February 2022, Ukraine has been facing a devastating war. The destroyed buildings are countless, scattered across the landscape, reminding us that chaos exists, that life has abandoned these devastated places, these structures torn apart by shells. Scenes of ruins, of gaping walls, of collapsed roofs, of furniture scattered on the ground, of lives also fractured.

If destruction fascinates me, it is not because of its morbid aspect; it is not truly anxiety-inducing in my eyes; on the contrary, it reminds me that life once inhabited these places. It evokes a certain melancholy, a reminiscence of what life was like in these places before—certainly of what was and probably will never be again, but also of what will be. The hope of renewal.

Families and people lived in or frequented these buildings where I go to install my lights. Places of life, work, or leisure. These buildings are filled with stories, the stories of the events that took place there.

“Through the cracks in us, light penetrates” sounds like a message of hope and life.

The symbol that from the depths of an abyss, light can emerge, that darkness cannot destroy hope, that death cannot contain the spark of life. These ruins evoke our own vulnerability, they reflect our own lives, so fragile as well, our own tragedies.

The light penetrates, finds its way, inexorably, just as life has done for millennia. These buildings, like the Ukrainian people, these women and men, are damaged, broken, but remain standing, cracked but not collapsed.

So it is not about celebrating destruction here, but rather renewal and better days ahead. Life stronger than destruction. Hope stronger than despair. Light stronger than darkness.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/03/4/7328082/
In the morning of 4 March Russian troops executed a missile strike on school no. 25 in the city of Zhytomyr (west of Kyiv). The school was destroyed.

This office building was hit four times by Russian shelling.
March 15, 2022, Consequences of the Russian army’s rocket shelling of the Artem plant and the Lukyanovka market near the Lukyanovka metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine,
Second time 2023 December 29th: 3 dead 24 injured.
Third time 2024 July 8th: 7 dead 3 inured.
Fourth time January 21st, 2025.
The security young man, aged 25, that welcomed me when I photographed the building died.

Bio:

Yves Lacroix is a French photographer born in 1972. His childhood was shaped by television, especially American westerns and series, which sparked his love for imagery and the American subconscious that influences his work today. 

Though trained in law and digital marketing, Lacroix turned to photography in 1997, becoming an assistant in a Parisian fashion studio. After working in Paris, he moved to New York City to assist a photographer but had to return to France due to visa issues. 

He later worked with renowned photographers like Ronan Guillou, Dominique Issermann, and Patrick Demarchelier, traveling to the U.S. and beyond. Initially focusing on fashion and portraiture, Lacroix developed still-life photography and explored new techniques. He also ran a luxury business creating e-commerce sites for brands like Van Cleef & Arpels and Yves Saint Laurent. 

In 2022, he moved to Nice. 

His artistic projects blend cinema, American culture, and photography, with his work often being cinematic, dreamlike, and filled with irony. Light, locations, and atmosphere are essential components, as are the characters and themes he explores, such as societal issues and human emotion.

All images and text © Yves Lacroix