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A very special exhibition

May 5, 2015

Try this for an artistic treat: An exhibition in Fukushima that few will see

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201505050007

 

By NORIYOSHI OTSUKI/ Senior Staff Writer

IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--An exhibition of art works that few people will likely ever see is now under way in areas of Fukushima Prefecture rendered uninhabitable by the 2011 nuclear disaster.

The works are being displayed in areas designated by the government as "difficult-to-return" zones, says Kenji Kubota, who serves as curator of the exhibition.

Given that it could be decades, perhaps even longer, before the zones are declared safe from radiation, Kubota, 49, said the idea behind the exhibition is to "evoke people's imagination on what works are being displayed."

Implicit on his comment is the notion that this undertaking could go on for many years.

Because radiation levels remain high in the areas, the government restricts entry. As such, members of the public basically will have no opportunity to see what is on show until the restrictions are lifted, and there is little prospect of that happening in the near future.

VENUES FOR ART WORKS STAY SECRET

Difficult-to-return zones are those where radiation levels could exceed 50 millisieverts per year.

The zones encompass an area of 337 square kilometers spanning seven municipalities, including the towns of Okuma and Futaba, which jointly host the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Currently, some 24,000 residents are living in other municipalities as evacuees.

On a morning in mid-April, four men ranging in age from their 20s to 40s gathered in Iwaki, southern Fukushima Prefecture, which is outside the designated zones.

The men drove in a rental car toward the crippled nuclear plant about 50 kilometers northward. As members of the organizing committee for the exhibition, their mission was to display the pictures at appropriate locations in the difficult-to-return zones.

Kubota, an associate professor of arts at the University of Tsukuba, told the other three that they would be joined by artists en route.

The exhibition kicked off on March 11, the fourth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami disaster that triggered the nuclear crisis.

Even after the opening, new art works have been brought into the difficult-to-return zones one after another.

Twelve groups of artists, including non-Japanese, are cooperating with the project. The number of art works offered by each group ranges from one to more than 10.

While the names of the artists are available, the venues for the exhibition will remain secret until the designation as difficult-to-return zones is lifted. Owners of buildings where the exhibits are displayed are also sworn to secrecy. Even among evacuees, only a few people know about the exhibition.

‘DON’T FOLLOW THE WIND’

Kubota said he received a proposal in late 2012 from a group of six young artists collectively named “Chim Pom” to hold an exhibition in the difficult-to-return zones.

“We want to convey the (nuclear) accident, which was rare in human history, to the world as a problem that affects all of mankind,” he was told.

The six artists had created art works related to atomic energy or nuclear power generation.

For example, they added drawings, which could remind people of the 2011 nuclear accident, on the “blank portions” of a wall painting on atomic and hydrogen bombs by renowned artist Taro Okamoto (1911-1996) in Tokyo’s Shibuya station.

They also repainted the Rising Sun flag so that it resembled the radiation hazard symbol on a hill overlooking the Fukushima nuclear plant, and took video footage of their endeavor.

Kubota was attracted by the proposal.

“We may be able to stop people from forgetting the Fukushima (nuclear crisis) with art works’ power of conveying information to others,” he recalled thinking at the time.

Kubota also collected donations after the triple meltdown to support people who had been engaged in cultural and artistic activities in Fukushima Prefecture.

In a nod to evacuees who fled south toward Tokyo after the nuclear accident to avoid exposure to wind-borne radiation blowing in a northwesterly direction, Kubota and other members of the organizing committee decided the exhibition should be titled “Don’t Follow The Wind.”

ANGER OF THE ANGLERFISH

An orthopedic clinic in central Iwaki is named, “Ganbaru Sekkotsuin,” which literally means “orthopedic clinic that works hard.” It receives about 80 patients daily, of whom 20 to 30 percent are evacuees from areas near the Fukushima nuclear plant.

The director of the clinic, Morio Yaguchi, 60, operated an orthopedic clinic in Futaba, but had to close it after the nuclear accident. He evacuated to Iwaki and reopened his clinic there in March 2012.

When he was living in Futaba, he also served as a judo instructor for local children in Futaba and surrounding municipalities, such as Namie.

Yaguchi allows his home in Iwaki to be used for meetings of organizing committee members. He also offers them advice about local issues.

“Ideas that young artists come up with are beyond my imagination,” Yaguchi said while laughing. "I cannot understand them.

“I just hope the exhibition is so attractive that people make lines to see the works when the designation as difficult-to-return zones is lifted,” he added.

A drawing of an anglerfish that is Yaguchi’s pride and joy is displayed in the waiting room of his orthopedic clinic. It was drawn by an acquaintance and painter simply called Mineoka, who is from Iwaki. The artist's real name is Mineo Midorikawa.

The anglerfish is baring its teeth, implying that it is angry at the sea that has become contaminated with radioactive substances, according to Yaguchi.

When Yaguchi opened his orthopedic clinic in Iwaki, it became a venue for evacuees living in local districts to meet up with each other.

“Elderly people living in temporary housing facilities hugged each other in the waiting room (of this clinic) while shedding tears,” said Yaguchi.

“They understood the anger of the anglerfish,” he added.

 

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