Date: Fri 10-Jan-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Illustration: C

Location: A13

Quick Words:

photographer-Nick-Jacobs

Full Text:

(feature on photographer Nick Jacobs, 1/10/97) Photographer Nick Jacobs

Discovers Hope In Chernobyl Angels

(with photos)

BY ANDREA ZIMMERMANN

When photographer Nick Jacobs traveled to Ukraine last summer, he found

intimate expressions of peace and hope in unlikely places - a gravesite where

hundreds of thousands were massacred, and clinics filled with children

suffering the effects of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. Some of the

photographic images captured on his trip are the focus of an exhibit at the

Cornwall Library, which continues through February 8.

Although Nick took 550 photographs at three clinics, he considers this to be a

prelude to an intensive shoot he hopes to do on his next trip to the area.

Working with two other professionals, Nick's ultimate goal is to create a

32-page children's book consisting of his photographs and quotes from the

young cancer victims about the Chernobyl accident and what their hopes are.

"We had preconceptions about what these photos should and would look like. We

thought these would be very sick or disfigured children [resulting in] very

disturbing or depressing photos, but that wasn't the case at all," said Nick.

"The photographs are full of hope... Most of the kids we saw were well on the

way to recovery. They were full of fun."

Nick, 46, attended UCLA and studied at the London Film School. His work has

mostly involved fashion and jewelry photography, but he also works for

Connecticut magazine and local newspaper chains. He also did the garden

photography for Rea Lubar Duncan's book, Down to Earth , a fellow Connecticut

writer.

He traveled to Ukraine with three friends, Alex Shoumatoff, a writer for The

New Yorker and television documentary producer; Alex's sister, Tonia

Shoumatoff, who runs the World Peace Prayer Society based in Amenia, N.Y.; and

Leslie Elias, artistic director of Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children's

Theater. Originally, Nick was to videotape ten days of footage at clinics for

Children of Chernobyl Relief Fund (CCRF), headquartered in New Jersey, but was

"scooped." So he and the Shoumatoffs came up with the inspiration to create a

book, called Chernobyl Angels .

"I haven't had the opportunity to do a project like this before," said Nick.

"My personal work is in portraits, landscapes, cityscapes and objects. But

those have not been the types of things you could put into a journalistic-type

of book," said Nick.

So he jumped at the opportunity to travel and be involved in photographing a

specific subject - kids in hospitals.

"I feel that it's important that people really understand what happened there.

The cancer and birth defects have had a [resurgence] 8 to 10 years after the

accident. I know there's a great deal of thyroid cancer with both adults and

children, but the statistics are difficult to gather because the Soviet system

is not very good at that," he said.

Nick's photographs for Chernobyl Angels will be introduced by Alex Shoumatoff;

he and Tonia Shoumatoff gathered quotes from the children to include as text.

This has been the one of the most meaningful projects he has worked on, said

Nick.

"Rather than write a book about pain, death and destruction, it will embody

hope for the future," said Nick. "These children are full of beauty - both

physical and spiritual beauty."

The trip to Ukraine seemed a natural extension of his association with Ukraine

emigres, peace groups and CCRF. During a peace festival coordinated by Tonia

Shoumatoff in New York State, Nick met and became friends with members of an

Armenian peace group. When a few returned to the US this spring with Mr V.D.

Davidenko, a governor in eastern Ukraine, they invited Nick to photograph in

their country.

In addition to shooting preliminary photographs for the book, Nick also

documented the celebration given in honor of Tonia and Alex Shoumatoff, whose

family once owned an estate in Ukraine. During the Russian Revolution, the

aristocrat's mansion was destroyed. The property, now a government collective,

was the site of the celebration this spring.

"Tonia's family makes no claim on any of the land, but they wanted to

reconnect," said Nick. The governor arranged to buy a small number of acres on

the farm where the Poltava Peace Center is to be built. The center will be a

place where ideas are exchanged and non-confrontational communications

studied. Nick photographed the warm welcome, ceremony, and events that were

part of the Shoumatoffs' return.

One of the most moving experiences Nick had during the trip occurred the first

day, in Kiev.

"We visited the famous site of Babiyar, the ravine where Nazis massacred

hundreds of thousands of people. The Soviets had filled it in, and for many

years after the war, pretended nothing had happened there," said Nick. "But in

recent years, it has been turned into a park with a beautiful monument."

Nick, his traveling companions, and some natives of Ukraine visited the

monument and then walked down to a field and formed a circle. This moment was

particularly moving because it is likely members of his own family had died

there, he said.

"We had this group of people - two Russian Ukrainian aristocrats, two New

Yorkers of Jewish descent, and three Ukrainians - sitting on the ground at

Babiyar and holding hands. Some of the Ukrainians were crying," said Nick.

"Gypsies and Jews and Ukrainians were shot there - all human beings. We felt

that that's what peace was all about.

"It doesn't matter what your race or background is, they were all human beings

buried under there. It was such a strong feeling. It crystallized just what it

is to be human."

Nick Jacob's photographs will be on display through February 8 at the Cornwall

Free Library, Pine Street, Cornwall Village, just off intersection of Routes 4

and 125; telephone 860/672-6874. The library is open Monday 2 to 5 pm,

Wednesday, 2 to 8 pm, Thursday 2 to 5 pm, Friday 10 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm,

and Saturday 9 am to 1 pm. Mr Jacobs is also the host of the award-winning

radio show "Music Sacred and Profane," on WPKN (89.5 FM).