Untitled (semipalatinsk)

Untitled (Semipalatinsk) engages with the architecture of the Soviet nuclear test site in Kazakhstan, the location of "Day One," when the USSR first tested nuclear weapons. Based on the historical photographs of Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, work documents the utilitarian structures designed to measure the impact of atomic explosions during the Cold War. This choice of architectural forms of the test field was also central to my interest, as these structures were built specifically to measure «better» destructive force of the explosions. The basic idea of architecture where it has to serve people is fliped around.

Today, this history is not distant. With Ukraine currently at war with a nuclear power and facing the deployment of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles like the "Oreshnik", those architectural remains of these first tests, now have a new relevance. The project approaches Semipalatinsk not as a closed historical chapter but as the origin of the nuclear era, which continues to influence the present, not only in Ukraine but as global threat.

The installation is a display in box form with a mirror front and three apertures on the back. Inside this confined space, nine sculptures are arranged in a tense setting. They remain invisible until the viewer approaches the openings to look inside, where double-faced mirror reflect the sculptures and the eye of a spectator. This creates an intimate, restricted viewing experience that reflects the hidden nature of state secrets.

Made of metal mesh and concrete, sculptures represent the remains of these test sites without being literal architectural models treated differently with fire. Although the history of the Semipalatinsk site is associated with 1.5 million affected individuals, the work maintains a deliberate distance. By avoiding a didactic narrative, the installation leaves room for viewers imagination and forces them to confront the traces of a history deeply embedded in our reality.