Kharkov, Ukraine

On 26 April 1986, at 01:23:44 a.m., reactor number four at the Chernobyl plant exploded (near Pripiat in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic). Further explosions and the resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area. Lethal doses of radiation affected those working and living in proximity to the failed reactor (hundreds of times more fallout was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima) and the plume drifted over extensive parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Northern Europe, and eastern North America. Large areas in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people.

Three days after the explosion, former army officer (and poster artist) Lieutenant Oleg Veklenko was among thousands of reservists mobilized by the Chemical Defense army forces to “clean up” the remains of the reactor. In the disturbing days that followed (he was stationed at Chernobyl for two months), he took many photographs of the reactor and the people affected by radiation, capturing viewpoints not accessible to the international media at the time (especially hard-hit were those within 30 km of the plant).

As an artist and teacher at the Kharkiv Institute of Industrial Arts (now the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts), Oleg Veklenko created a significant body of documentarty portraits and pencil sketches of the soldiers who were risking their lives in service to their country—these works resulted in the organization of a formal exhibition of “Chornobyl heroes’ portraits,” which went on display in the art galleries of Chornobyl, Kiev, Kharkiv, Poltava, and other cities of Ukraine.

The hard experiences learned from the Chernobyl incident formed a leitmotif of moral responsibility that became central to Oleg’s subsequent life and art—in particular, the need to face the threat of new technological catastrophes and environmental pollution. In 1991, a decision was made to organize an international poster exhibition entitled «4th Block» devoted to the fifth anniversary of the Chornobyl tragedy. Designers and printmakers from 54 countries responded to the initial invitation to submit their works of art… a significant triennial event was birthed, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Every third year since, Kharkiv has been the site of the international triennial of the eco-poster, eco-graphics, and youth-oriented eco-projects. Exhibits “touch the most painful ecological problems; pollution of the environment, global warming, genetic engineering, etc.” The sixth triennial «4th Block» took place in 2006, drawing a unique collection of over 4500 contemporary graphic works and ecological posters from 54 different countries.

The call for entries for the seventh juried «4th Block» 2009 triennial has just been announced. Participation is free, and the entry deadline is 1 February 2009. Find full information (and entry forms) in a down-loadable PDF (324 KB) here.

Congratulations, and best wishes for another successful event, Oleg!