The Water Between Us

• Prize
  Shortlist
• Photographer
  Sergiy Antonenko, Spain
• Date of Photograph
  2021
• Category
  Africa
• Website
  https://www.sergiyantonenko.com
• Instagram
  https://www.instagram.com/serjey_antonenko/

These photographs were taken in January 2022 in the village of Ganvie, Benin, one of the poorest countries in the world. During the colonial era, Benin was a key node in the slave trade.
Ganvie was born as a refuge — a village on the water. Like many other places across the world, water here was not just sustenance, but a shield.
Today, Ganvie survives entirely on water. Boats are homes, roads, lifelines. Tourists are tolerated but not welcomed. The residents of Ganvie do not perform. They endure.
“Ganvie” means "we survived". And they continue to survive.

I’m a Ukrainian photographer working globally, 48 years old, based in Spain.
I first picked up a camera at the age of 10. Completed a full course of study at the Kiev School of Photography. After turning 40, I began creating projects inspired by the beauty of our planet in all its diversity.
I want to share my vision of the vanishing world of nature, still preserved beyond the reach of human influence, offering others a chance to reflect on the wonders that surround us, often unnoticed.

Awards - 2026 FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS - Seascape 1st place winner with "Icebergs"
- 2026 FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS - Abstract nominee with "Between Surface and Light"
- 2025 PX3 - Prix de la Photographie, Paris: Bronze in Nature/Water - the "Icebergs" series
- 2025 PX3 - State of the World: Honorable mention - "The Water Between Us"
- Life in Another Light
Infrared Photography Contest 2024:
HONORABLE MENTION Category – Black & White
HONORABLE MENTION Category – Landscape – Visible Light