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From: helen sloan <helen@volcanic.demon.co.uk> Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 20:14:53 +0200 To: umbrella@cityscape.co.uk Subject: 10 Years After Chernobyl - The Unthinkable is the Unknowable THE UNTHINKABLE IS THE UNKNOWBLE EXHIBITION AND WEBSITE CAMERAWORK 26 April to 1 June 1996 Call for contributions Please see below details of the exhibition and website, marking 10 years after the Chernobyl disaster, which opens at Camerawork on April 26th. The website itself will use the unique qualities of the net to look at documentary techniques. The aim is to be neither pro or anti nuclear power but will look at inconsistencies in legislation and standards on a global and local level, and how they affect different people's engagement with nuclear power. The website already has a lot of source material, but for it to explore notions of documentary properly contributions on an ongoing basis will be vital. I would like to ask if you would send a short piece of text and/or image relating to your experience or lack of experience with the nuclear industry. This will be edited and added to the web pages which will be updated on a weekly basis. Questions you could address are: Where were you when the Chernobyl disaster happened on April 26th, 1986? What impact did the disaster have on you? Does it still have any impact? What do you think about nuclear power in general? What would happen if a similar disaster to Chernobyl happened in your own country? Contributions should be sent to helen@volcanic.demon.co.uk (please note: if you are sending other info to me as helen@camwork.demon.co.uk, please amend your mailing list), or from April 26th can also be sent to the website e-mail address which can be accessed through the site. Alternatively fax or post to Camerawork (44 (0)181 983 4714 or 121 Roman Road, London, E2 0QN) marked Chernobyl website.Let me know if you want to be credited or left anonymous. Thanks for your help and I look forward to receiving your comments and contribution. Yours Helen Sloan Curator The Unthinkable is the Unknowable Ten Years After Chernobyl New work by Stefan Gec, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Simon Schofield and Pam Skelton. Launching The Unthinkable is the Unknowable Internet project. http://www.wmin.ac.uk/media/chernobyl Curated by Helen Sloan for Camerawork Opening: 26 April 7pm - 9pm @ Camerawork, 121 Roman Road, London E2, UK April 26th - June 1st, 1996 This major touring exhibition marks 10 years after the Chernobyl incident. =46eaturing works by three British artists, all of whom have some connection= s with the nuclear industry, and the award winning work of Ukrainian filmmaker Vladimir Kuznetsov; The Unthinkable is the Unknowable presents a series of responses to the impact of nuclear power on people's lives. The internet project, edited and developed by Angela Medhurst and Helen Sloan, will include text and images relating to the documentation of living and working in the midst of the nuclear industry and will provide a direct link to the Ukraine and the country's simultaneous events in remembrance of the Chernobyl disaster. Certain aspects of the nuclear industry and the Chernobyl accident are well charted - The Unthinkable is the Unknowable aims to present personal histories, accounts of daily lives and future projections through human experiences rather than through statistics or political statements. Many of the accounts of these experiences contradict each other, and it is clear that the real implications of living in a nuclear disaster area, or in the vicinity of a nuclear power station, are largely a product of guesswork and the interpretation of statistics. Stefan Gec and Pam Skelton both have family connections in the Ukraine and have recently visited Chernobyl, interpreting their experiences in different ways. Pam Skelton's video work The Liquidators focuses on the people responsible for decontaminating the Chernobyl plant shortly after the disaster and their subsequent health problems, while Stefan Gec's installation Once removed looks at the impact of the disaster on a broader scale using mementos such as a child's exercise book found in Chernobyl - the last entry is dated 26th April 1986, the date of the accident. Vladimir Kuznetsov has worked extensively on documenting the 'unknown' aspects of the Chernobyl disaster. His latest film The Chernobyl Accident: A Chronicle of the Shelter Construction uses eyewitness accounts and found footage to document the building of the 'sarcophagus' around the contaminated reactor 4 directly after the accident. Simon Schofield's Power Stations as Ruins, a series of digitally montaged photographs show crumbling power stations in rural idyllic landscapes reminiscent of the work of Lorrain or Friedrich. Constructed out of total fantasy, rather like architectural drawings of monumental buildings as ruins by Soane and Piranesi, these anachronistic landscapes encourage the audience to develop their own narrative about a future event which could lead to these scenes. The Unthinkable is the Unknowable Internet project provides a direct link between the Ukraine and Britain. Using new documentary techniques that highlight, rather than resolve the contradictions in the information provided on the nuclear industry, this project will have an important role in stressing the emphasis on human experience within the exhibition. As a contribution to the site, everyone is invited to record their experiences and comments on the disaster and the nuclear industry - send your responses to helen@volcanic.demon.co.uk, fax them on 0181 983 4714 or post them to Camerawork marked Chernobyl Website. From 26th April responses can be made on the site itself. The site http://www.wmin.ac.uk/media/chernobyl, will be updated every week. =46or further details and press prints contact Barbara Hunt on 0181 980 6256 Events The Unthinkable is the Unknowable Inter alia 18th and 19th May Weekend project in Dungeness =A340 (=A325 concessions) includes materials and accommodation Built on ten miles of shingle beach, Dungeness is one of the most unusual landscapes in Britain. In spite of the presence of two nuclear power stations and some of the biggest military manoeuvre sites in the country, the local people maintain a thriving fishing industry and farming community. The area also attracts large numbers of visitors to its nature and bird reserves. This diversity means that the landscape offers a wide range of source material for making work demonstrated by the number of artists, including the late Derek Jarman, who have lived in Dungeness. Inter alia will provide the opportunity for photographers, writers, filmmakers and other cultural producers to work on a weekend project focusing on the various presences in Dungeness. The project will be partly structured for the group, including a visit to Dungeness Power Station, talks from local residents, and discussion sessions. 'Free' time will also be provided for participants to explore the area for themelves. The weekend will be led by photographer Pauline Squibb who is working on an ongoing project with the residents of Dungeness. Some of the artists involved in The Unthinkable is the Unknowable exhibition will also be present for the weekend. Materials and accommodation are provided and transport is available for those who need it. Places are limited and early booking is advisable. Elements of the work from the weekend will be shown on The Unthinkable is the Unknowable web site.To make a booking and for further details contact Camerawork on 0181 980 6256 The Unthinkable is the Unknowable website http://www.wmin.ac.uk/media/chernobyl (available from April 26th, 1996) Special event: 25th May 2pm - 5pm. Throughout the exhibition and subsequently, it will be possible to access the website. On 25th May, Angela Medhurst and Helen Sloan, editors and developers of the site, will be available at Camerawork to give demonstrations, and will hold an informal discussion on their approach to documentary when creating the web pages. During this event, they will also work on the creation of extra pages based on the work produced during the Inter alia weekend in Dungeness. We are looking for stories or obsrvations about the Chernobyl disaster and/or wider nuclear issues, eg. Can you remember how the Chernobyl incident affected you and where you were?. Please send contributions (any length - contributions may be edited) to helen@volcanic.demon.co.uk or mail/fax them to Camerawork marked Chernobyl Website. From April 26th, the website can be visited and contributions and comments left there. The site will be updated weekly and contributions should appear the following week. =46or further details please contact Camerawork on 0181 980 6256 -- * distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission * <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, * collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets * more info: majordomo@is.in-berlin.de and "info nettime" in the msg body * URL: http://www.desk.nl/nettime/ contact: nettime-owner@is.in-berlin.de