Swimming in Chernobyl
    Swimming in Chernobyl
    A woman illegally crosses into the forbidden forests of the Exclusion Zone
    A woman illegally crosses into the forbidden forests of the Exclusion Zone
    A 'Chernobyl widow' holds a photograph of her late-husband. She says he died from radiation exposure after working as a liquidator after the accident.
    A ‘Chernobyl widow’ holds a photograph of her late-husband. She says he died from radiation exposure after working as a liquidator after the accident.
    An accordion photographed in the home of a bereaved mother near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
    An accordion photographed in the home of a bereaved mother near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
    "Here is the motherland, the motherland just absorbs our souls"
    “Here is the motherland, the motherland just absorbs our souls”
    The wild forest inside the Exclusion Zone, where many people gather mushrooms and illegally hunt for game
    The wild forest inside the Exclusion Zone, where many people gather mushrooms and illegally hunt for game
    A map of Ukraine in a school near the Exclusion Zone, including Crimea
    A map of Ukraine in a school near the Exclusion Zone, including Crimea
    Mushrooms collected from the Exclusion Zone
    Mushrooms collected from the Exclusion Zone
    Family portraits in a house next to the nuclear Exclusion Zone in Ukraine
    Family portraits in a house next to the nuclear Exclusion Zone in Ukraine
    A kitchen near Chernobyl: photos of deposed president Viktor Yanukovych (left) and political rivals Yulia Timoshenko and Vitali Klitschko
    A kitchen near Chernobyl: photos of deposed president Viktor Yanukovych (left) and political rivals Yulia Timoshenko and Vitali Klitschko
    Sasha shares stories of his time working as a 'liquidator' in the years after the nuclear disaster. "Everything made of wood in this house is from the Zone"
    Sasha shares stories of his time working as a ‘liquidator’ in the years after the nuclear disaster. “Everything made of wood in this house is from the Zone”
    Disabled liquidators at a memorial to the Chernobyl disaster. Many feel abandoned by the State, receiving little or no compensation
    Disabled liquidators at a memorial to the Chernobyl disaster. Many feel abandoned by the State, receiving little or no compensation
    A liquidator shows his document that proves he worked in the Zone. Some complain that fake documents can be bought on the black market
    A liquidator shows his document that proves he worked in the Zone. Some complain that fake documents can be bought on the black market
    A young girl plays on her grandparents small farm near the border of the Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.
    A young girl plays on her grandparents small farm near the border of the Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.
    "I always collect the right kind of mushrooms, because some absorb radiation and some don't, and I know which ones will be clean"
    “I always collect the right kind of mushrooms, because some absorb radiation and some don’t, and I know which ones will be clean”
    A man and his dog stare through the fence into the forbidden territory of the Exclusion Zone.
    A man and his dog stare through the fence into the forbidden territory of the Exclusion Zone.
    A tombstone with a photograph of the deceased in a cemetery near Chernobyl
    A tombstone with a photograph of the deceased in a cemetery near Chernobyl
War without War:  

 In 1986 a huge nuclear explosion in the USSR lead to the contamination of vast areas of Eastern Europe and the evacuation of a huge areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia displacing over 350,000 people and killing untold thousands. This photo project is a look into the lives of those who continued living on the edge of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

“This is War without War” explained Olga, who lives just walking distance from the barbed-wire fence that surrounds Chernobyl’s nuclear ‘Exclusion Zone’ in Ukraine. No one understands this place like those who live with it, who toil in its soil and navigate its forbidden forests.“We are like bugs on a potato” explained one local resident, “These bugs are not afraid of anything and nor are we, if you try to kill them – they are still alive, and we are the same”The invisible presence of radiation haunts this landscape like an unanswered question: Soviet radiation with post-Soviet half-lives. Those who live with it embody the world’s worst nuclear disaster, exposed not only to the unseen spectre of radiation, but also to a State that has abandoned them. Forgotten by the government, people in Chernobyl can rely only on themselves for survival, and a deeply felt knowledge of the place they call home.This project is based on four years of in-depth ethnographic research among communities who dwell in the shadow of the word’s worst nuclear tragedy. Over the years I was invited into people’s homes to eat their homegrown food and share bottles of ‘samagon’ vodka – learning about the lived reality of life after nuclear disaster.

These photographs – no more than a glimpse into a post-atomic landscape – would not have been possible without the kindness of those I met.