Most of the paintings were done on the back of old posters or wallpaper. Many of the images are haunting & horrific: dead fish, toxic plumes, leaking oil drums, vapor clouds, the radiation warning symbol. We were surprised when we realized that none of these children was alive in 1986 when the reactor exploded. Clearly, the damage to the environment and to these young psyches is long lasting.
Yet this artwork also shimmers with beauty, history, myth, and a lively sense of place. We see, too, signs of hope in some of the painting titles: The Fall of My Dream, The Magic Sea, How I Like Clean Water. Such is the power of art-to give these children a way to express their situation (and their fears and aspirations) creatively, to help put the horror of Chernobyl in some kind of context, and to further the healing process.
Our wonderful octogenarian volunteer, Belle Kevin, saw the powerful impact of these paintings, especially as a group, when she was helping us process last year’s River of Words entries. She set about finding places to exhibit them and approached the Berkeley Public Library about putting them on display, which they did to great public response. Flush with success, she then talked to the folks at the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA), in Oakland, California, who were quick to agree to do a show. The paintings have also been exhibited at the Pt. Reyes (California) Visitors’ Center and at an international environmental education conference (NAAEE) in Texas, where they were seen by thousands of people.
Belle has begun a correspondence with teacher Anne Ivchenko, and has sent art supplies and encouragement to this dedicated teacher, who has had to overcome many challenges to keep her small after-school program running. Art and education have fallen on hard times in that part of the world (as in most parts of the globe), Anne wrote to Belle-”people only care about making money now,” she added. The collection of paintings exhibited here is the result of the efforts and caring hearts of two women who have never met and the children whose lives they’ve touched.
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