Visualising Chornobyl: Ukraine and Beyond

2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster, which, alongside the Bhopal (1984) and Fukushima (2011) catastrophes, remains one of the most consequential technological, as well as discursive, events of the modern era. Occurring on 26 April 1986 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Soviet Ukraine, the disaster not only undermined faith in global industrial progress, but also contributed to the chain of events that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Beyond its immediate political consequences, Chornobyl became a defining reference point in philosophical and cultural reflections on the legacies of the twentieth century, shaping the work of thinkers (notably Alexievich, Virilio, Brown, etc). Moreover, it put Ukraine on the global map, prompting Ukrainian writers, artists, and filmmakers to engage with the catastrophe as a nation-building event and to explore the modes of its representation. Symbolically, forty years later, Ukraine has once again appeared at the disastrous epicentre of the global map due to the ongoing Russian war invasion, driven by the ambitions to restore the Soviet Union.

‘Visualising Chornobyl: Ukraine and Beyond’ explores the enduring legacy of the Chornobyl disaster and its resonance in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine. Focusing on literature, cinema, and video games, it invites participants to consider how Chornobyl has been represented across different media and historical moments. What is the significance of Chornobyl today, in light of Russia's ongoing aggression? How have visual and narrative representations of the disaster evolved over the past four decades? What recurring tropes, symbols, and aesthetic strategies have shaped its depiction? And how do Ukrainian perspectives differ from, or intersect with, international understandings of Chornobyl?

The symposium will take place on Friday, 18 September 2026, from 9am to 5:30pm, at ArtsOne Building, G.19 (Hitchcock Cinema) at Queen Mary University of London. Attendance is free, but a reservation is required.

For any queries, please contact the symposium's organisers, j.g.hicks@qmul.ac.uk (Professor Jeremy Hicks), o.teliuk@qmul.ac.uk (Oleksandr Teliuk, QMUL).