Igrushka – Toys of Pripyat and Chernobyl 25 Years Later
Pripyat Nursery, Chernobyl 25 Years Later - Jan Smith 2011
Igrushka means “toy” in Russian. This project is an exploration of the Chernobyl accident through the forsaken toys of a very particular nursery in the abandoned city of Pripyat. I discovered them in January after I climbed through a broken window and cleared the rubble from in front of a door with a painted parrot on it. Small text on a bird-house in the painting identified the nursery as “Group 14”.
Images are paired with folktales found in books in the nursery, and with interviews with people who where children at the time of the accident. This is part of an ongoing project I am developing in Ukraine as part of the 25 Years Since Chernobyl. You can see the complete presentation on my website, where you can also download a PDF and circulate it.
IMAGES GALLERY/GALERIA ONLINE: http://www.smithjan.com/igrushka.html
Nursery Group 14. Pripyat, Ukraine In the northwestern corner of Pripyat, there is a nursery whose toys are melancholically radioactive. These toys tell a special tale. When the city was evacuated, they stayed behind, and for the last twenty-five years watched Chernobyl’s isotopes decay.
Nursery Group 14. Pripyat, Ukraine The toys wait. In the fall the leaves float through the broken glass and cover them. In the winter, the rain water freezes and holds them in the ice. In the spring, the waters melt and a lucky few ride the small waves to new corners to wait for warmth.
Memories of Childhood “We actually had a color TV, so my sister and I would get up early on the weekends and watch cartoons. I still remember so many songs from the shows.” Kasia | Age on April 26, 1986: Six | Residence in 1986: Shpola
Memories of Chernobyl “While my father was away, my mother somehow found out he had a lover.” Miroslava | Age on April 26, 1986: Fifteen | Residence in 1986: Kiev
Favorite Toy “A nurse at the clinic one day gave me the stuffed bear she had as a little girl. She told me she had it during the war.” Olya | Age on April 26, 1986: Three | Residence in 1986: Kiev
Favorite Toy “My father brought home a moon tractor. It had could move on its own and I was so fascinated that I wanted to know how it did that. So I took it apart to find out, and it never worked again, I was so sad.” Alexander N.| Age on April 26, 1986: Fifteen | Residence in 1986: Kharkov
Memories of Chernobyl My father repaired radios and electronics so he had a radio that could pick-up stations in Greece and Turkey, and he told us that a nuclear plant had an accident.” Alfiya | Age on April 26, 1986: Eight | Residence in 1986: Yalta
Memories of Chernobyl “It was at camp that summer. Whenever we teased somebody we would call them a Chernobyl kid and say they were radioactive, and not get close to them.” Vlad | Age on April 26, 1986: Thirteen | Residence in 1986: Kiev
IMAGES GALLERY/GALERIA: http://www.smithjan.com/igrushka.html
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