Iliya, son of Arcadi, son of Leonid, continues the Chichkan family tradition of artist. Grandfather Leonid painted in the Soviet Realist style; father Arcadi's art could be categorized as "hippie figurative;" and ILIYA CHICHKAN's work is contemporary.	Artist Iliya Chichkan
The installation Sleeping Princess of Ukraine (1997), exhibited in Intermedia, reinvigorates the memory of the Chernobyl disaster.	In 1986, a meltdown of an atomic reactor at Chernobyl spewed radioactive debris into the atmosphere. Fear of the invisible menace emptied the city of Kiev forty miles away.

To preserve the genetic integrity of the population, a million women moved to the countryside. For three months, only men walked the empty streets of Kiev.	Sleeping Princess
Chichkan's sleeping princesses are the mutated fetuses of women who did not escape Chernobyl's contagion. The artist bejewels the babes, and transforms them into fashion models. They await a princely kiss to bring them to life.	In keeping with curator Soloviov's instruction--bring art to mass culture--Chichkan has created a Sleeping Princess of Ukraine collection.
Chichkan presents his line in a fashion performance. Trousers, jackets, dresses carry the distinctive Sleeping Princess logo.
Sleeping Princess Sleeping Princess fashion performance documentation (1:33 min. RealVideo clip. You'll need RealPlayer to see and hear these clips)	Fashion performance (video still)

The Chernobyl mutants reappear in another Chichkan installation. As a participant in a group show on a battleship, he faced the problem of creating an image that would compete with the ship's massive metal slabs and imposing deck guns.
Mutated fetus in aftermath of radioactive emissions from Chernobyl (click for enlarged view)
The mutants of Chernobyl cradled in womb-like portholes are fragile, the antithesis of the battleship's heavy metal. Yet their serenity speaks as loudly as booming guns.
Curator MARTA KUZMA organized the exhibition aboard the battleship. Gallery space in Kiev is severely limited. Consequently curators initiate most exhibitions, as they are the group best positioned to connect artists, spaces, and ideas.	Curator Kuzma