On March 11, 2011, at 2:46 p.m., two tectonic plates at the bottom of the Japanese Trench slipped. The bump was like nothing the area had felt before. The Tohoku earthquake, measuring in at a magnitude of 9.0, lasted a full six minutes, moving parts of the region up to 26 feet in the process. It was the fourth largest earthquake on record (since 1900), and the largest in Japanese history.
2011:04:02, Minamisanriku, Motoyoshi, Miyagi Prefecture from North East Earthquake Disaster Tsunami 2011 Portfolio, 2011, Miyoshi Kōzō
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The artists of “In the Wake” demonstrate the power of art in the most catastrophic of times. They pause, they remember, they question, they wonder, they exalt, each in his or her own way. “Rather than chronicling the onslaught of the waves, the artists in the exhibition examine the impact of the tsunami through the physical or spiritual traces of the communities that have been destroyed,” a statement from the MFA Boston explains. “Instead of documenting the explosions of the reactors at Fukushima, they seek metaphors for the invisible nuclear particles that contaminate the surrounding countryside and for the anxiety that continues to reverberate throughout Japanese society. It is certain that these artists will continue to return to the subject whether explicitly or implicitly, and that other generations of artists will follow.”
“In the Wake: Japanese Photographers Respond to 3/11” runs from April 5 until July 12, 2015 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In the meantime, check out a preview of the exhibition below.
