This feature is part of CULTURED‘s 2026 Young Photographers list. This year’s list spotlights 14 artists aged 30 or younger from around the globe who are united by a relentless curiosity and an understanding that the photographer’s most important job is identifying what deserves to be seen.
AGE: 29
BASED IN: Kyiv, Ukraine
Irish-born, Ukraine-based Kearney’s photographs show the lived realities of wartime in a body of work compiled over the last four years. In one, soldiers stand poised. In the next, a baby lies gently in its stroller.
What questions does your work ask?
It really isn’t so much about questions. It’s more of a reminder—yes, of course there is beauty in this world, but also a great level of brutality. I want to show that strange coexistence and make people question their role in this dichotomy.
Who are your visual influences?
Vietnam War-era photographers such as Tim Page and Don McCullin have had a massive influence on me. The biggest is definitely Tim Hetherington in terms of how to portray conflict in an unorthodox and empathetic way. I find that style fascinating and inspiring.
What do you want your work to achieve?
I want to make people aware of what is truly happening in the world, whether that is in your own city or on a far-flung battlefield.
What has been your most challenging subject to photograph so far?
Anything related to refugees or injured civilians in the middle of combat. Their lives change in a second, just due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time, stuck between two clashing sides. As a photographer, I also find that these subjects have been easily exploited throughout the history of conflict photography, and I do not want to be associated with this practice.
What’s the craziest situation you’ve shot in?
Two years ago, I was with a squad of Ukrainian soldiers when the village we were in was surrounded by the Russian military. This turned into a 14-hour, close-quarters gunfight, and we all barely escaped with our lives. Thankfully, all I suffered was a broken camera and a very small shrapnel wound.
Meet more of CULTURED‘s 2026 Young Photographers:
Photographer Alec Dai Once Shot a Series Naked, in a Basement, Under a ‘Weird Portrait of Jesus’
Many Photographers Have Been Nominated for a Pulitzer. This One Was Nominated for a Grammy.
Photographer Arielle Gray Wants Her Subjects to Be Unafraid of Softness
For Queer Photographer Ben Jastremski, ‘Every Image I Make Is the Permission I Was Never Given’
Meet the 30-Year-Old Mongolian Photographer Documenting Changing Borders
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