Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

Twenty years ago today, the number four reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear facility experienced an explosion that led to a catastrophic meltdown and the worst nuclear disaster in the history of the planet. The immediate surroundings were evacuated and—with the exception of a few people who refused to leave—never repopulated. What remains is a lot like the post-apocalyptic netherworld that formed the backdrop for so many Police songs back in the 1980s, a slowly disintegrating moment frozen in time. When the World is Running Down indeed. What remains there has been photographed in all of its stunning clarity by Robert Polidori and anthologized in his book Zones of Exclusion: Pripyat and Chernobyl, which stopped me in my tracks on a recent trip to the bookstore.

http://www.theglobalist.com/photo/Chernobyl/Polidori.shtml#

Another, somewhat similar exploration was undertaken by a Russian woman named Elena. She photographed the region and supplies some considerable narrative along with the pictures on her website. Interestingly enough—the web being the web, after all—there is now some question as to the authenticity of the story. Motorcycles, not to mention unescorted self-tours, are said to be frowned upon in the area near the remains of the plant. Nonetheless, the images are plenty provocative and underscore the message of Pollidori’s book: some mistakes are indeed permanent, yet these mistakes are not without a certain beauty.

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chernobyl-revisited/
http://boingboing.net/2004/05/26/girl_photoblogs_cher.html

Daniel Turman