I am dedicating this photograph Mariposas (24th February 2022; Michoacán, Mexico) to raise funds for people impacted by the war in Ukraine. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the initiative #KtoPomozeUkrajine (Who will help Ukraine)which is providing support and aid for people impacted by the war in Ukraine and forced to flee across the border to Slovakia. Funds will go towards the help in finding accommodation for the refugees, as well as their social, psychological, and financial support.

On 24th February I was on the other side of the world, at the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Sierra Chincua in Mexico, with no internet connection. Waiting on the top of the mountain with valley spreading in front of us. When the sun peeked through the bed of clouds high up in the sky, and a huge kaleidoscope of butterflies soared from the trees behind us. We heard them before we saw them, frozen by the magic of that moment, a dozen of strangers from around the world, surrounded by nature, sitting in silence, while our hosts praying with their palms facing towards the sky. In Mexican culture the Monarch butterflies represent the souls of those that passed away.

Only at the end of the day I discovered what was unfolding behind the eastern border of the country I was born in. The symbolic meaning of the Monarch butterfly for the indigenous people in Mexico and the serendipity of my encounter with them on the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine felt profound. So I hope that through raising funds with the photograph of this moment I might offer at least a little help for those in need.