I have seen many photos about Chernobyl, Pripyat and the exclusion zone in general. Many of those are really strong images that are telling to tell a story of the drama of what happened with an image. Many other are simply trying to make a show out of it. I believe that with with certain topics, we must be respectful, we must keep a certain regard towards the topic. I do see this behaviour of trying to make a show out of everything and everywhere, especially in Urbex photography. where photographers are assembling objects found inside the place they are visiting, but also objects that they are bringing with them, to create shocking images of blood, dolls without their head, fake weapons, and many other things. Chernobyl is not immune to all of this it. In this structure, a kindergarten, there were dolls and gas masks almost everywhere and of course, in many angles of this structure, people made so the dolls were wearing the gas mask. The association of
thoughts its clear and of course, it’s shocking. It’s almost as if we are trying to raise the bar of how shocking our communication needs to be, because we become immune, addicted and used to the previous level of sufferance. In this picture I’ve tried to have a different approach, I wanted to tell the impact of what had happened on the most defenceless people of all, child’s, but I wanted to do it without making it spectacular. I almost tried to find a layer of delicacy in the image I took, even if, if you think about that, this image it’s not delicate at all.
Forniture left abandoned inside a Kindergarten in Pripyat
Hasselblad X1D 21mm f/8 1s