29: In the Depths of the Kolyma Mines [oil on canvas, 35.4 x 35.4 inches]

In the mines, prisoners were expected to dig in the frozen ground with only pick axes and shovels. In the gold mines the work was extremely difficult, but there was still a small hope for survival. The inmates knew, however, that in the uranium mines hope was extinguished. Prolonged exposure to the mineral would eventually and inevitably kill them. The mere mention of the assignment made the prisoners' blood freeze. There was no set system for determining which prisoners went to the uranium mines and which did not. It was simply a matter of luck.