The Sacrifice Zone

Despite being the largest country in Central Asia, and an important republic within the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has rarely been on the minds of the general public. This only changed a few years ago, when the region became the site of rising tensions due to the devastating war in Ukraine, and the rebuilding of the famed Silk Road between China and Western Russia.

For his latest multimedia project, The Sacrifice Zone, Dutch photographer Eddo Hartmann visited Kazakhstan’s expansive steppe – documenting its landscape and communities, and even venturing into the epicentre of the USSR’s nuclear test zone: for decades, the area known as ‘the polygon’ (which is accessible only with protective clothing) was used for the most destructive nuclear tests ever held on the surface of the Earth, with no consideration for the local population. 

His extraordinary portraits, landscape images and films are now on view at Amsterdam’s Huis Marseille, continuing until 25 February 2024.