In the chase of utopian desires, money and worst of all, power, humans forget that everything in this world is nothing but temporary. Time and again we are reminded of this fact by artists but we tend to forget it way too soon and way too often. Moscow-based visual artist Danila Tkachenko took the step to reignite this debate with his photography series, ‘Restricted Areas’. The artist captured abandoned places of the Soviet Union which used to be secret cities so long ago that it feels like another world altogether. These ruined places were the hubs of technological advances where more than often, inventions which were disastrous by nature were produced to gain power in the world.
“I traveled in search of abandoned places which used to hold great importance. These places are now deserted. They have lost their significance, along with their utopian ideology which is now obsolete. Many of these places were once secret cities, that did not appear on any maps or public records. The sites of forgotten scientific triumphs, abandoned buildings of almost inhuman complexity. The perfect technocratic future that never came. Humans are always trying to own ever more than they have”, he explains.
Observatory located in the area for space explorations. Kazakhstan, Almaty region, 2015Boiler house of a closed aerodrome. Kazakhstan, Karaganda region, 2015
Hangar at the former firing field for biological weapons. Kazakhstan, Akmola region, 2015Coal processing plant. Russia, Komi Republic, 2014Ruins of experimental laser system “ZET”. Kazakhstan, Karaganda region, 2015
Tropospheric antennas in the north of Russia – the type of connection which has become obsolete. There were many of them built in far North, all of them deserted at the moment. Russia, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, 2014Deserted observatory. Kazakhstan, Almaty region, 2015Former mining town which has been closed and made a bombing trial field. The building on the photo shows the cultural center, one of the objects for bombing. Russia, Komi Republic, 2014
Part of an unfinished space port. Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda region, 2013Monument to the Conquerors of Space. The rocket on top was made according to the design of German V-2 missile. Russia, Moscow, 2015A city where rocket engines were being produced in Soviet times. Was a closed city until 1992. Russia, Dzerzhinsky city, 2013
Antenna built for interplanetary connection. The Soviet Union was planning to build bases on other planets, and prepared facilities for connection which were never used and are deserted now. Russia, Arkhangelsk region, 2013Sarcophagus over a closed shaft which is 4 km deep – was one of the deepest scientific shafts in the world at the time. Russia, Murmansk region, 2013