Life beyond the Still Zone: Documentary Photography after Chernobyl

As one of the great disasters of the twentieth century, Chernobyl and its representation through photography has received valuable topical, vet not necessarily mist aimed, scholarly attention. (1) Unlike other significant twentieth-century events like World War II, and specifically the Holocaust, which have visceral impact through the magnitude of monstrosities, arid which have developed into visual area studies themselves, Chernobyl, by comparison, is quieter. Few articles have addressed the role of art in mediating the disaster, as if the scope of tragedy belies poetic interpretation. Andrea Zink's essay "Approaching; the Void Chernobyl in Text and Image" considers the difficulty in representing the event beyond the immediate aftermath or the reactor failure. (2) The lack or creative response, she suggests, is due to the dearth or activity in the area beyond the first days and weeks of the catastrophe, and secondly, to the lack or a perceivable enemy, which reduces narrative conflict. Beyond this, "all that one can write about is simply a lack or events ... Even fictional stories cannot convincingly be set in the contaminated zone, for the Chernobyl region has itself turned into a piece of science fiction." (3) While Zink proposes a "lack of events." and hence a limit on the output of creative texts on Chernobyl, I argue that we need to include but go beyond the power plant itself (to what Zink refers to as the "all-encompassing cemetery or Chernobyl" (4)), and to consider broader effects or the meltdown in order to contest the "lack or events" or which Zink speaks. The catastrophe occurred on April 26. 1986, when a planned test triggered an explosion: however a number of contributing factors, including personnel with poor training, reactor design, and sociopolitical issues such as the Cold War added to the complexity. Approximately 43,000 people were evacuated from the town of Pripyat, and a thirty-kilometer radius of contamination forced further populations to evacuate and relocate. However, this zone is arguably arbitrary: a marked area does not guarantee that toxic air and polluted soil and waterways will cease leaking beyond the evacuated area. Radioactive fallout affected Ukraine, Russia, and other parts or Europe, with Belarus being extremely badly affected. There has been an increase in tumors, birth defects, and deformities, and a significant increase in thyroid cancer, yet official secrecy, debates, and denials mean it is difficult to get an objective picture of the extent or the health crisis. Adriana Petryna argues that "behind such seemingly definite numbers [of how many workers in the clean-up crew died or were affected by radiation] lies a web of scientific, moral, and political uncertainties. However, some medical research contributes to contesting this skepticism. Petryna draws on evidence that shows "significant increases in chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic markers of radiation effect in children living in contaminated areas." (6) Children born to parents involved in the cleanup and evacuees are considered at risk, as are those born in contaminated regions of Belarus. Although the aforementioned great disaster of the twentieth century, the Holocaust, has received regular attention by scholars, archivists, and filmmakers, those most regularly investigating, mourning, and capturing the aftereffects of Chernobyl are, arguably, documentary photographers. While Chernobyl may lack the spectacle that Zink points to, therefore suggesting a "lack of events," photographers have shown drama through the small moments of individual and community lives. 'Wink' Chernobyl has been read as post-apocalyptic--and therefore both extraordinary and an end point it is important to note the role the domestic played after the emergency. The minutiae of daily life--in spaces of work, home and leisure are being captured in recent Chernobyl documentary photography. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Looking to the developing body of Chernobyl photographs, there are competing themes--the architectural and the human. …