Chernobyl Project

“The aim of the Chernobyl Project is to create a radiographic series of images of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, depicting the most affected regions within that area, located on the Belarusian side of the border. Images imprinted by the very invisible radiation that has contaminated the area since the Chernobyl disaster, 24 years ago, on April 26th, 1986. Specific images of an abandoned place… yet filled by an extensive energy, an invisible matter existing everywhere in that environment, yet totally invisible except for the destruction traces it leaves behind.” (Alice Miceli)

Miceli travelled to Belarus several times over a period of three years and this publication combines collected photographs from her travels to the exclusion zone around the reactor, subjective personal readings and official documents such as visas that have become key elements of the project itself.

The documents gathered in the publication, usually withheld from the exhibition visitor, define the scope of social, political and personal parameters encountered and their essential role within the project and its development. Similar to the proceedings within her photographic and cinematic works, here the inconspicuous or invisible is being made visible by questioning what is considered to be normal.

The publication is therefore not only an integral part of the work along with the films and negatives that have so far formed the Chernobyl Project, but allow a deeper insight into the thoughts and work processes of the artist and her examination of the experiences and encounters beyond the creation of the final exhibition works.