Press right for the images made by people living with Chernobyl
    Press right for the images made by people living with Chernobyl
    A mother stares at her son who is photographing her in their back garden near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
    A mother stares at her son who is photographing her in their back garden near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
    A stork next on top of a telegraph post in a Chernobyl village
    A stork next on top of a telegraph post in a Chernobyl village
    A young girl poses for the camera in her house adjacent to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
    A young girl poses for the camera in her house adjacent to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
    A photograph of a man's thumb south of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
    A photograph of a man’s thumb south of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
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    A young boy takes a 'selfie' in outside his house near Chernobyl
    A young boy takes a ‘selfie’ in outside his house near Chernobyl
    A mother and her newborn rest in their house in the Chernobyl region
    A mother and her newborn rest in their house in the Chernobyl region
    A catholic tapestry is stuck to the wall in a child's bedroom
    A catholic tapestry is stuck to the wall in a child’s bedroom
    A school boy stands in his classroom in Orane village, a few kilometres from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
    A school boy stands in his classroom in Orane village, a few kilometres from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
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    ***
    An old lady sits on a bench outside her home near Chernobyl
    An old lady sits on a bench outside her home near Chernobyl
    A horse stands in a field near Chernobyl
    A horse stands in a field near Chernobyl
    A young girl stares at her mother, who is photographing her sitting on a bed
    A young girl stares at her mother, who is photographing her sitting on a bed
    A snapshot of a memorial to the Great Patriotic War in a village near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The finger over the lens belongs to a woman who lives in the village.
    A snapshot of a memorial to the Great Patriotic War in a village near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The finger over the lens belongs to a woman who lives in the village.
    Monthly compensation: at the time of writing, 2 hryvnia 10 kopeks is worth just $0.18
    Monthly compensation: at the time of writing, 2 hryvnia 10 kopeks is worth just $0.18
    A pet cat stares at the camera near a bowl of half-prepared fish, caught from the river that runs past Chernobyl reactor number 4
    A pet cat stares at the camera near a bowl of half-prepared fish, caught from the river that runs past Chernobyl reactor number 4
    A mother and her daighter plant potatoes during April, the same month that Chernobyl polluted this landscape almost thirty years earlier
    A mother and her daighter plant potatoes during April, the same month that Chernobyl polluted this landscape almost thirty years earlier
    An elderly lady prepares home-grown food in her home near Chernobyl
    An elderly lady prepares home-grown food in her home near Chernobyl
    A woman stands in her field near the fence around the Exclusion Zone
    A woman stands in her field near the fence around the Exclusion Zone
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    ***
    The fence to the Exclusion Zone on the horison
    The fence to the Exclusion Zone on the horison
    Border guards stop cards as they enter the Exclusion Zone at the main checkpoint into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Every Easter, people who have families buried in the Exclusion Zone are allowed to visit their graves.
    Border guards stop cards as they enter the Exclusion Zone at the main checkpoint into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Every Easter, people who have families buried in the Exclusion Zone are allowed to visit their graves.
    Children play in a park in Ivankiv, the administrative centre of the Chernobyl region
    Children play in a park in Ivankiv, the administrative centre of the Chernobyl region
    The photographer holds the neck of their cat
    The photographer holds the neck of their cat
    A boy takes a photograph of himself
    A boy takes a photograph of himself
    An elderly lady doing embroidery outside her rural home
    An elderly lady doing embroidery outside her rural home
    A boy leans against his house as he poses for his friend
    A boy leans against his house as he poses for his friend
    A woman hangs washing in her garden near Chernobyl
    A woman hangs washing in her garden near Chernobyl
    Guard dog
    Guard dog
    A father and daughter at a local cemetery during Easter celebrations. A table of villagers sit in the background eating and drinking
    A father and daughter at a local cemetery during Easter celebrations. A table of villagers sit in the background eating and drinking
    A man who collects scrap metal from the Zone climbs into bed
    A man who collects scrap metal from the Zone climbs into bed
    The local store in a village near Chernobyl
    The local store in a village near Chernobyl
    A young girl strikes a pose in her yard
    A young girl strikes a pose in her yard
    The sign reads 'Chernobyl'
    The sign reads ‘Chernobyl’

Disposable Citizens

Disposable citizens is a photography project that reveals images made by people who live in the radiated landscape around the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.

Participants were given disposable cameras and asked to show what it is like to live in the shadow of nuclear disaster.

‘Disposable’ not only stands for the photographic medium used (outmoded single-use 35mm film cameras), but also the way many people feel they have been treated by the state.  Many people who live with Chernobyl believe they are regarded as disposable citizens, abandoned by the government to an uncertain future.

The images they made provide an intimate look into the hidden geographies of Chernobyl. In a landscape where the specter of radiation is inherently invisible, being able to see spaces beyond the observable becomes all the more important. It is an ephemeral search for“spaces that cannot be seen” (de Certeau 1984).

For a more detailed academic perspective on the project see this article.