On the 25th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster, I was asked to come down to the CBC offices in Toronto and do a live interview on Radio Canada International's The Link.
It was an odd experience as I'm used to actually seeing the person interviewing me, not sitting in a small booth with headphones on, waiting for a disembodied voice to come on and start talking to me. It was actually quite an easygoing experience and made me feel extremely comfortable, like I was in my living room, listening to some old vinyl records with my big old 70s headphones. That's probably why I babbled on so much and felt so at ease with the interviewer. You tell me:
My interview - rated one of The Link's top stories!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
We're Open For Business!
The show is up at Bezpala Brown Gallery and it looks amazing! 7 hours of hanging photos yesterday and we're ready for our first visitors starting today at noon! Some teaser snapshots from the very long day of hanging photos:
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| The Independent Women in their rusted iron frames |
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| The big reactor in all its toxic glory - 4' x 4', not easy to hang this one |
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| Playing around with some plexiglass mounting |
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The vastness of a ghost city
If you ever get a chance to visit Pripyat, thinking to yourself "I have 3 days - I'm going to photograph the entire place!" believe me when I say, you never will. The city is so huge and you want to have at least an hour per building to shoot something half decent. I think I would need at least 3 more visits to get a comprehensive photographic essay of this forgotten location.
Click the map to enlarge it (you'll need to - trust me). You'll see just how little we shot in 3 days on a private tour....
Click the map to enlarge it (you'll need to - trust me). You'll see just how little we shot in 3 days on a private tour....
Where did the time go?
It's amazing how fast time flies. In just 3 days we'll be installing the CONTACT Photography Show at Bezpala Brown Gallery that has come out of this 2 year adventure!
Just in case you were interested in seeing just how big the locations were that we visited, here's a map of the Chornobyl reactor and area - anything with labels indicating where we were allowed to go and to shoot.
Just in case you were interested in seeing just how big the locations were that we visited, here's a map of the Chornobyl reactor and area - anything with labels indicating where we were allowed to go and to shoot.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Remembering Vladimir Shevchenko
Russian filmmaker Vladimir Shevchenko went into the irradiated zone and was allowed complete access to film the workers as they attempted to clean up the destruction left by the explosion.
Wearing only a surgical mask - the same as most of the workers at the disaster - at one point he filmed the crash of an army helicopter while filming from the roof of the reactor, subjecting himself to lethal doses of radiation.
Shevchenko later compiled his footage into a film entitled "Chernobyl: A Chronicle of Difficult Weeks" which was immediately suppressed by the Soviet government. He later died from the radiation he exposed himself to, although he is not among the official casualties of the accident.
These scenes were not included in the final cut of the film and you can see Shevchenko in one of them on the roof of the reactor with his camera gear:
Wearing only a surgical mask - the same as most of the workers at the disaster - at one point he filmed the crash of an army helicopter while filming from the roof of the reactor, subjecting himself to lethal doses of radiation.
Shevchenko later compiled his footage into a film entitled "Chernobyl: A Chronicle of Difficult Weeks" which was immediately suppressed by the Soviet government. He later died from the radiation he exposed himself to, although he is not among the official casualties of the accident.
These scenes were not included in the final cut of the film and you can see Shevchenko in one of them on the roof of the reactor with his camera gear:
Monday, April 4, 2011
Chernobyl Disaster Documentary
If you have an hour, sit down and watch this amazing documentary about the Chornobyl disaster - with interviews with Hans Blix, Gorbachev, government and military workers, journalists, scientists, and Prypyat refugees.
We watched this documentary on the train out of Kyiv, heading out to Odessa to do some sightseeing after our big adventure to Chornobyl. It made me realize just what I had been walking through, what I had witnessed 23 years later, that I was now a part of nuclear experience in the Exclusion Zone. I don't think I will ever forget my time there or what I witnessed.
To this day, the term "The Liquidators" is one that I will always associate with radiation and death - even though these approximately 800000 young men were heros for going in without true knowledge of what they were getting into. The most heroic to me are the team of coal miners, who used their expertise to pump out the contaminated water to prevent its entrance into the groundwater. Although they were given suits and masks to wear, it was so dark and hot under the reactor, most chose to go in unencumbered by these ineffective security measures in order to work faster and breathe properly. They truly had no idea what working so long with so little protection under the reactor would do to them.
We watched this documentary on the train out of Kyiv, heading out to Odessa to do some sightseeing after our big adventure to Chornobyl. It made me realize just what I had been walking through, what I had witnessed 23 years later, that I was now a part of nuclear experience in the Exclusion Zone. I don't think I will ever forget my time there or what I witnessed.
To this day, the term "The Liquidators" is one that I will always associate with radiation and death - even though these approximately 800000 young men were heros for going in without true knowledge of what they were getting into. The most heroic to me are the team of coal miners, who used their expertise to pump out the contaminated water to prevent its entrance into the groundwater. Although they were given suits and masks to wear, it was so dark and hot under the reactor, most chose to go in unencumbered by these ineffective security measures in order to work faster and breathe properly. They truly had no idea what working so long with so little protection under the reactor would do to them.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Inside a Crumbling Nuclear Giant
The sarcophagus that entombs the remains of the Chornobyl reactor was built hastily back in 1986 after the explosion. It was a quick solution to an unprecedented life-threatening problem that could cross through Europe and into Asia, depending on how the wind blew. Plans have been underway to design and build a new, more permanent sarcophagus before higher levels of radiation leak out and threaten the workers, animals, land, and water. This Greenpeace video, shows the interior of the crumbling structure and daily maintenance required to keep it standing until the new solution is completed.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Our exhibit in Slate Art Magazine
Two Canadian artists document Chernobyl 25 years after the nuclear disaster while the world watches another unfold. Volatile Particles contrasts man's impact on the environment with nature's resilience. The photographs blend images of normality (the ghosts of the past) superimposed on post-Chernobyl devastation and infestation (the present-day stark reality amid the afterlife of the Exclusion Zone). Poignant, moving and relevant – this is a timely introspection addressing our ever-evolving nuclear depression.
From Fukushima to Chornobyl
I’ve been watching, along with the rest of the world, as a potential nuclear disaster unravels in Japan with the tsunami-damaged reactors at Fukushima struggling to come under control and prevent a meltdown. As small levels of radiation leak out into the soil and air, media have quickly made the comparison between this breakdown and the disaster in Chornobyl – the world’s worst nuclear disaster just 25 years ago this April.
Having visited Chornobyl and it’s ghost city of Pripyat, I truly hope that is not the case as I wouldn’t want to see the city and land around the Fukushima plants cordoned off and left uninhabited for a quarter century due to toxic levels of radiation. But there are several differences between these two disasters in not only underlying circumstances, but also in local government and world response that in the end make the difference between a liveable solution and desolate wasteland.
How it happened
The Fukushima reactors broke down due to natural circumstances – they were hit by a tsunami and, as with most buildings in the area could not withstand the pressure and force of nature. But they have still managed to keep them contained, have put in major efforts to cool the cores to avoid meltdown, and there has been no explosion and spewing of radioactive materials into the air as with Chornobyl.
Chornobyl’s explosion was man-made. Some reports say that a worker at the plant turned off the emergency cooling system to test the electricity in the grid system which created a power surge. The reactor failed dramatically leaving them with no recourse but to go into the higly radioactive mess and try to cover it and contain it while digging under the reactor to install a cooling system in time before a second meltdown and explosion.
Reaction to the event
When the Chornobyl reactor exploded just 7km from the city of Pipyat, built for the workers and their families, it was three days before the government made any effort to evacuate the city. Officially there was no meltdown and no casualties and it was business as usual. With massive amounts of radiation in the air, soaking into the skin, all metal, into the earth and water systems, people just went about their business, some even swam in the river used to cool the reactor. It was 3 days after the explosion that officials told people that they were being evacuated temporarily for three days so they only needed what they could carry with them as they would be back soon. 1100 buses evacuated some 50,000 irradiated residents who never returned. Volunteers and those sent by the government to work on the reactor to get it cooled down and contained were not aware of the levels of radiation and most, if not all, died of radiation poisoning shortly after. The sarcophagus was built to contain the radiation that still spews from Chornobyl today and the land in a 30km radius is considered an Exclusion Zone – toxic and uninhabitable, perhaps forever.
At Fukushima, the reaction to the problem was immediate with scientists rushing to ensure that the reactors were contained and no danger to the land and water. Since Chornobyl, many of the world’s nuclear scientists have traveled to the Exclusion Zone to study the disaster and learn from its mistakes, see how reactors can be improved, and put in place contingency plans. With today’s immediate coverage of everything that happens in the world 24/7, there would be no way that any government could cover something up such as a nuclear plant being damaged or failing. Through 24/7 news channels, social media outlets such as Facebook, YouTube, bloggers, and Flickr, we are a world that is connected to each other across oceans and can immediately react and provide aide. Although the scientists are having a challenge getting the reactors back on track and are reporting radiation levels 400 times the norm near the reactor, we need to keep in mind that when the people were evacuated from Pripyat, the levels were 60,000 times higher than normal. It may seem like a lot when reading the information in an isolated article, but it needs to be used in comparison to get a better idea of the scale.
Outcomes
I continue to watch the news, read the reports, and connect with my friends in Japan through FB to keep abreast of what’s going on with both the cleanup efforts and the Fukushima reactors. I have every hope that because of their experience with earthquakes and preparedness, what they learned from Chornobyl, their great technological advances since the 1986 disaster, and the world’s help at their call that the scientists and engineers at Fukushima will be able to pull an amazing scientific hattrick to contain their reactors and make Japan safe again, averting a second Chornobyl.
As much as I enjoyed the adventure of photographing a true ghost city in Pripyat, I am emotionally disconnected from the original event – it’s a toxic time capsule ready for exploration. I have an emotional attachment to Japan through friends and media, making it a different experience. It would pain me to see a part of Japan turn into an Exclusion Zone and become uninhabitable for 25 years, 50 years, or forever.
Having visited Chornobyl and it’s ghost city of Pripyat, I truly hope that is not the case as I wouldn’t want to see the city and land around the Fukushima plants cordoned off and left uninhabited for a quarter century due to toxic levels of radiation. But there are several differences between these two disasters in not only underlying circumstances, but also in local government and world response that in the end make the difference between a liveable solution and desolate wasteland.
How it happened
The Fukushima reactors broke down due to natural circumstances – they were hit by a tsunami and, as with most buildings in the area could not withstand the pressure and force of nature. But they have still managed to keep them contained, have put in major efforts to cool the cores to avoid meltdown, and there has been no explosion and spewing of radioactive materials into the air as with Chornobyl.
Chornobyl’s explosion was man-made. Some reports say that a worker at the plant turned off the emergency cooling system to test the electricity in the grid system which created a power surge. The reactor failed dramatically leaving them with no recourse but to go into the higly radioactive mess and try to cover it and contain it while digging under the reactor to install a cooling system in time before a second meltdown and explosion.
Reaction to the event
When the Chornobyl reactor exploded just 7km from the city of Pipyat, built for the workers and their families, it was three days before the government made any effort to evacuate the city. Officially there was no meltdown and no casualties and it was business as usual. With massive amounts of radiation in the air, soaking into the skin, all metal, into the earth and water systems, people just went about their business, some even swam in the river used to cool the reactor. It was 3 days after the explosion that officials told people that they were being evacuated temporarily for three days so they only needed what they could carry with them as they would be back soon. 1100 buses evacuated some 50,000 irradiated residents who never returned. Volunteers and those sent by the government to work on the reactor to get it cooled down and contained were not aware of the levels of radiation and most, if not all, died of radiation poisoning shortly after. The sarcophagus was built to contain the radiation that still spews from Chornobyl today and the land in a 30km radius is considered an Exclusion Zone – toxic and uninhabitable, perhaps forever.
At Fukushima, the reaction to the problem was immediate with scientists rushing to ensure that the reactors were contained and no danger to the land and water. Since Chornobyl, many of the world’s nuclear scientists have traveled to the Exclusion Zone to study the disaster and learn from its mistakes, see how reactors can be improved, and put in place contingency plans. With today’s immediate coverage of everything that happens in the world 24/7, there would be no way that any government could cover something up such as a nuclear plant being damaged or failing. Through 24/7 news channels, social media outlets such as Facebook, YouTube, bloggers, and Flickr, we are a world that is connected to each other across oceans and can immediately react and provide aide. Although the scientists are having a challenge getting the reactors back on track and are reporting radiation levels 400 times the norm near the reactor, we need to keep in mind that when the people were evacuated from Pripyat, the levels were 60,000 times higher than normal. It may seem like a lot when reading the information in an isolated article, but it needs to be used in comparison to get a better idea of the scale.
Outcomes
I continue to watch the news, read the reports, and connect with my friends in Japan through FB to keep abreast of what’s going on with both the cleanup efforts and the Fukushima reactors. I have every hope that because of their experience with earthquakes and preparedness, what they learned from Chornobyl, their great technological advances since the 1986 disaster, and the world’s help at their call that the scientists and engineers at Fukushima will be able to pull an amazing scientific hattrick to contain their reactors and make Japan safe again, averting a second Chornobyl.
As much as I enjoyed the adventure of photographing a true ghost city in Pripyat, I am emotionally disconnected from the original event – it’s a toxic time capsule ready for exploration. I have an emotional attachment to Japan through friends and media, making it a different experience. It would pain me to see a part of Japan turn into an Exclusion Zone and become uninhabitable for 25 years, 50 years, or forever.
Olena Sullivan photographed the irradiated Exclusion Zone of Chornobyl and Pripyat. Photos from this excursion can be seen in 3 upcoming exhibits – “Chornobyl Remembered” at the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada (Ottawa) April 12-end June, “Chornobyl: 25 Years Later” at KUMF Gallery (April 26-May 4) with a reception and presentation May 30 at 6pm, and “Volatile Particles: Chornobyl 25 Years Later” at Bezpala Brown Gallery (Toronto) as part of CONTACT 2011 with a reception May 14. You can view additional photos from Pripyat on her website.
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