PROJECTSMATHILDE MATON
ABOUT

Babouchka

Ecole Duperré
2022Anti radiation neck piece and recognition symbol
   lead, bead weavig


                                                                           



                     Living in Ivankiv Ukrain, 30 km from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant at the time of its explosion, my grandmother has been exposed to levels of radioactivity far too high for her body to handle. As for many children and young adults, the consequences of this exposure are not immediate, but take several years to be detected.

In 1993, she was diagnosed with auto-immune thyroid disease.

In order not to further damage her thyroid, she has to wear a lead shield -the metal that blocks the most radiation- when she has an X-ray.
I decided to interview her on the subject to identify her needs. She told me how unpleasant the lead shielding that radiologists put on her is to wear.

Yet, I discovered an aspect of the problem that I did not expect.

The main recognized victims of Chernobyl are the liquidators who worked there in the following years, and the people that developed a severe irradiation syndrome, due to the huge quantity of radiation they were exposed to.
She was therefore asked to keep this information to herself.

This misinformation contributes to the non-recognition of a huge part of the people impacted by the Chernobyl accident. It makes them invisible, leaving them to bear the burden of these consequences alone.





    lead weaving    bead waving inspired by traditional Ukrainian necklacesThis neck piece is used as a shield against the radiation emitted during medical examinations such as mammography, avoiding further damage to her thyroid. But, if the lead piece is removed, an ornamental neck piece remains, that allows my grandmother to highlight this part of her body, invisibly damaged by the Chernobyl accident.

It softly claims her as a legit victim, and pre- sents her to the world as such.

Worn by several people, it could become a universal symbol of recognition, and allow highlighting the long term victims of the Chernobyl accident.

























Contact

Email: mathildematon@student.designacademy.nl
Instagram:  mathilde_maton