Journey into the Future – Stop #1

Chernobyl, the catchphrase is enough to bring images of horror to mind. The catastrophe at the power plant near the Ukrainian city of Pripyat is burned deep into the memory. After the explosion in the Unit 4 reactor, a huge radioactive cloud terrified the whole of Europe.

Even 25 years after the disaster on April 26, 1986, the region around Chernobyl is still uninhabitable. Moscow photographer Sergey Shestakov went looking for clues in the exclusion zone where life has died out. In Pripyat he took pictures that are deeply affecting. Deserted streets, abandoned houses and carelessly abandoned objects show a dead city in which life is no longer stirring. Shestakov's gaze becomes emotional and intimate.

The title, Journey into the Future, suggests that the horror of the past simultaneously serves as a reminder of the present and a warning about a possible future. From Chernobyl the mental path to Fukushima is not far. In his recordings, the Muscovite managed to give his message sustainability and set a thought process in motion. In his photographs he does not stop at remembering a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions, but rather shows what can happen when people overestimate themselves and technology gets out of control. The irrational, apocalyptic images of a sad reality appeal to everyone's responsibility.