That’s what it is about:
After one year of preparation, finally my project became reality in April and September 2013. I visited officially as photographer the restricted 30 km zone around Chernobyl. Based on my two trips I gained a picture of the devastation of the disastrous reactor incident of 1986.
With a special permit I was allowed to visit places that no one had seen since the accident. Secret state buildings, apartments, kindergarden, schools, prisons. I talked to resettles, former residents and soldiers. And last but not least observe the nuclear megalomania of the UDSSR.
It was a shocking, impressive, reflective journey through a radioactive contaminated area, that over the next 3000 years will not be habitable, that cost many people their lives after the accident but also in the years to come.
I want to present these pictures, probably one of the most comprehensive photo documentation, of the restricted areas during a 10 day exhibition to a wide audience in Basel and introduce a limited picture photo album. On top of that the exhibition will be accompanied by visual effects, videos and extensive explanations.
Nothing is what it seems to be. Or did you know that the swimming pool of Prypjat was still used by Russian soldiers 10 years after accident?
How the project started
On one hand I was indirectly affected by the accident as a child. At the age of 12 I was living in Berlin and we were not allowed to go to the woods or playground nor to eat any vegetables. Later I started to look into nuclear energy and especially Chernobyl. On the other hand I was shocked that when talking about Chernobyl people had no idea. Additionally, I was encouraged during my planning of the project with comments like «… can you feel radioactivity?»
And finally, the Photography report is part of me. Nothing is more convincing than the illustration of a topic by photography. With my exhibition I’m not stating an opinion, it’s not about pro’s / con’s of nuclear energy. At the center is the illustration of the scenarios and people affected by the accident.
Therefore I need your support:
To cover some of the cost for:
- For the exhibition to be able to illustrate on 200 m2 a comprehensive documentation of the «restricted areas»
- To produce high quality pictures for the exhibition
- To realize the photo album with 176 pages large size, limited edition