Project “Chernobyl”

The project emerged following an art residency in Chernobyl in September 2019. Growing up in Kyiv, merely 130 km from Chernobyl, the artist shared the common local sentiment of confusion regarding foreigners’ fascination with the “Zone of Exclusion.” Therefore, the decision to participate in an art residency there was quite unexpected for the artist herself.
Despite global travels, Chernobyl holds a unique place in the artist’s experiences—a ghost city, where time appears to flow differently, fostering an illusion of evolutionary regression.
Despite its melancholic ambiance, Chernobyl – the largest “Tower of Babel” of the 20th century—a station with 12 reactors, serves as a source of inspiration, prompting profound reflections. Walking through the remnants of civilization’s achievements, one envisions being the last human survivor after a global catastrophe, witnessing the uncontrolled forces of nature reclaiming the landscape. The unfinished stadium, frozen in time just before the tragedy, the children’s school with alphabet books forever open, and the Palace of Culture, once filled with joyous dancers—all tell haunting tales. The project aims to reconsider the significance of those, who sacrificed their lives to save others, emphasizing the duty of subsequent generations to remember.