IN FOCUS: Adam Docker and Igor Chekachkov
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This June, as part of Refugee Week, IN FOCUS brings together two photographers whose work explores what it means to endure displacement, uncertainty, and survival and the human stories that exist beyond the headlines.
Join us for an evening with Igor Chekachkov and Adam Docker, two photographers documenting lives shaped by conflict, movement, and resilience from deeply personal and unexpected perspectives. Through his powerful project 100 Days of War, Igor documents the emotional reality of war in Ukraine, capturing fragments of daily life, fear, tenderness, and survival during moments of upheaval. His images move beyond reportage, revealing the psychological weight of living through conflict and the fragile humanity that persists within it. Alongside this work, Adam Docker will present photographs made while travelling through refugee camps in Kenya with veterinary teams working on the frontlines of humanitarian aid. His work uncovers a rarely seen aspect of displacement: the vital relationship between people and animals in refugee communities, and how protecting livestock and pets can mean protecting livelihoods, health, dignity, and hope.
Though working in different environments, both photographers ask urgent questions about care, survival, and connection in times of crisis. Together, their work reminds us that stories of displacement are never abstract, they are intimate, layered, and deeply human.
Join us for an evening of photography, conversation, and reflection on the realities of conflict, refuge, and the resilience of people rebuilding life in impossible circumstances.
Adam Docker – is a photographer and cinematographer working across fine art, documentary, and portrait. His work is shaped by a cinematic eye, grounded in instinct, light, and human connection. Based in london but shaped by journeys through more than 90 countries, his photography captures striking human stories, intimate moments, and evocative landscapes from around the world.
For Adam Docker, photography is not merely a visual medium; it is a profound exploration of humanity and culture. his images are a testament to his understanding of composition, storytelling and emotion. Adam grew up between London and Rome, deeply influenced by his italian roots and a large extended family. His father was tragically shot dead when Adam was just ten years old. although they never met, his father’s legacy left a deep imprint and instilled in adam a deep sense of resilience, justice, and identity. these themes form the foundation of his creative work. Fuelled by a childlike curiosity and an insatiable desire for knowledge, Adam has always been fascinated by other cultures, histories, and the ever-changing landscapes that unfold beyond a window. this constant sense of wonder drives him to seek out the unfamiliar, to observe, to listen, and to translate what he discovers into imagery that feels both intimate and universal. “I want to catch something in the act and see how it becomes something else.”
Adam is a two-time winner of the British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain award (2021 and 2025), and recipient of the Portrait of Humanity award (2021 and 2023). His work has also been recognised by LensCulture and The Independent Photographer.
Igor Chekachkov – When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, I was forced to leave my hometown, Kharkiv and go to the West of the country. From the very first day, I began to put together photographs and notes in a small notebook, creating a personal record of war and displacement from the inside. What originally stemmed from an intuitive desire to document my experience of war and uncertainty, developed into something broader: a reflection on the notions of home, identity, and displacement. Whilst the work literally describes the sudden evacuation of my family and the consequences of a brutal Russian attack, it also seeks to question the language of photography itself, and its limitations in documenting, representing and affecting conflict.
This deeply personal visual chronicle became 100 Days of War, a project that explores the tension between memory and documentation, the limits of photographic truth, and the search for meaning in the face of destruction
IN FOCUS is presented by the Photojournalism Hub in collaboration with Riverside Studios, bringing to the public compelling and thought-provoking contemporary documentary photography and photojournalism.
