Chernobyl’s children grew up
«Welcome to the city of teenagers!»
Let’s discover a different story about Ukraine and about Chernobyl! Let me show you the youth of Slavutych, Ukraine’s youngest city: the town built by Soviet authorities after the nuclear disaster to keep a workforce close to the power plant.
In this city lost in the middle of a forest I met Yulia and her friends. During the three years of my project, they allowed me to photograph very intimately their transformation from teenagers into adults. The unexpected children of the disaster are now building their future in country torn by war and economic crisis, but at the same time filled with opportunities.
Next year the world will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the worst nuclear accident it ever saw. Media will offer the usual stories of death, cancer and desolation.
With this project we can tell another story: instead of looking in the past with anxiety, focusing on the power of young generation.
Yulia and Vanya riding the boat on the way back to Slavutych 
Sasha looks at Pripyat from the roof of its tallest building 
Yuka and Vanya look at the Dnieper
The book
Some elements might change under the influence of the designer but now it’s planned to look like this:
- English language
- Hardcover
- 180 pages
- 16.5 x 23 cm, portrait format
- A sewn binding that opens very flat
The goal is to have it for sale before April 2016, date of Chernobyl’s 30th anniversary. It means that all the elements would be ready to send to the printing company by the end of this year.
Where will the money go?
I self-financed the production of the whole story, which represents 13 trips to the city between february 2012 and march 2015. The first elements of the book are ready, but I want to make it as beautiful as possible. And I cannot do this alone.
For the next steps, I need to pay a creative designer and a writer who knows the region and the country and whose texts will complement the story in the best way. Finally, this will require a good printing company to produce a quality book that will last and give you a pleasant experience while exploring it.
A final part of the budget is necessary to pay for the photolithography, the proof-reading and the 10% cut of wemakeit.
I’m already in touch with a German printing company, and have selected the designer.
If the campaign exceeds the financial goal, I’ll be able to finance an exhibition in Switzerland or/and in Ukraine for the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl’s catastrophe, in April 2016.
Who am I?
Living between Kiev and Geneva, I’ve been working as a photojournalist since 2007 doing the job I always dreamt of. My work has been published in Swiss and international press including The New York Times, the Wallstreet Journal, Le Monde, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Le Temps, L’Hebdo or L’Illustré among many others.
Aside from the press, I was involved in amazing photographic projects such as Solar Impulse, Geneva city initiative against racism «Genève, Sa Gueule» and a Sustainable Mountain Art residency in Peru.
In 2014, I won the Globetrotter World Photo prize, which helped me covering the price of the trips to Slavutych.
Oh! And I also obtained Master degree in Political Science from the University of Geneva.