An Inside Look at the Art of Chernobyl
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is the protected area around the infamous power plant. It includes Pripyat, a ghost city left abandoned after the disaster. But the 20-mile radius also contains stunning, surprising, and often sobering art. Some murals date back to before the 1986 explosion and remain frozen in time. Other works have popped up in the decades since. It's a mix of art created with and without the permission of local authorities.
Atlas Obscura travelers snapped these art photos on our Chernobyl by Day, Kyiv by Night trip. These works offer a glimpse into the society that once thrived here. But they also reveal something new about the locals who have since returned.
A mural painted before 1986, found near a complex for children.
A mural erected before 1986, found next to a pool in the Palace of Culture.
A mural believed to be painted post-1986, found near the Pripyat amusement park.
A mural erected in 2016 by Australian artist Guido van Helten, in honor of Russian photographer Igor Kostin. Before his death in 2015, Kostin spent decades photographing post-disaster Chernobyl. This mural, which was approved by Chernobyl’s administration, is a reproduction of a Kostin photograph. It can be found inside the cooling tower adjacent to Chernobyl’s unfinished Block Five.
According to trip leader Darmon Richter, an unauthorized artist painted these orange characters in the spring of 2019. Richter, who was likely the first person to play Pokemon Go in Chernobyl, hypothesizes that the character in the white hat might be based on him.
By Nick Papa
I’m the editor of the Atlas Obscura trips blog. I talk to our trip leaders, travelers, and friends in the industry about how they explore the world’s wondrous places.
