Meg Hewitt shows a fragile Japan
The exhibition "Tokyo is yours" by Australian photographer Meg Hewitt shows images by an artist whose work attempts to put the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and the fragile country that followed into context.
Meg Hewitt, born in Sydney in 1973, loves Japan. The Australian studied sculpture, painting and media. She has devoted herself to photography since 2010. In 2011, the Fukushima nuclear disaster almost led to the complete evacuation of Tokyo - a city with more than 13 million inhabitants. Although the photographer found most of her inspiration in mangas and films, it was life on the streets of the mega-city that interested her.
The streets of Tokyo are also where she found the title for the exhibition, which will be on display in Berlin until January 27, 2024: "Tokyo is yours" comes from a graffiti written on the city walls. In Hewitt's case, it could also read: "Tokyo is mine".
The details
When a seaquake triggered a tsunami with serious consequences in Japan at 2.46 p.m. local time on March 11, 2011, over 22,000 people lost their lives. Around 500,000 people had to be evacuated in the days that followed. The high waves damaged the nuclear power plant built on the coast and caused consequential damage that triggered core meltdowns in three units. Large quantities (around a fifth of the radioactive emissions from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986) of radioactive material were released.
Up to 150,000 inhabitants had to leave the area temporarily or permanently. In many countries, the disaster led to a new and different way of thinking about nuclear energy policy.
Back to Asia: Meg Hewitt traveled to Japan seven times between 2015 and 2017. She spent twelve hours a day walking through the city, strolling through parks, night bars and the zoo, traveling to Fukushima or visiting the waterfront. The scenes she captured have a cinematic quality.
Hewitt captures the small details that spontaneously catch her attention and immortalizes the people she encounters. The fact that she doesn't speak or read Japanese, doesn't understand conversation, gave her a sense of complete freedom and creativity. The people she met and the scenes she experienced can be understood as symbols, they resemble metaphors.
With flash and wit
Photographer Daido Moriyama, whose work Meg Hewitt regards as a source of inspiration, even describes her photographs as "dangerous". In her photos, Meg Hewitt explores the space between things, memories, interpersonal relationships and fear. She often photographs at night with a flash, isolating her subject from the context.
The use of silver film emphasizes the contrasts of the black tones when developing the films. This gives the images a special aesthetic, and some even create a feeling of psychological pressure.
"Tokyo is yours" is a black and white series created between 2015 and 2017. The cycle shows Hewitt's deep reflection on Japan and its uncertainty and fragility after the disaster in Fukushima. Her book of 68 photographs is brilliant proof of the strong attraction that the absurd exerts on Hewitt.
"Chaussee 36 Photo Foundation", Chausseestraße 36, admission free
Meg Hewitt's photography exhibition, "Tokyo is yours," featuring images from her time in Japan, is not just limited to Tokyo, as some might assume. Her work also includes captures from Fukushima, showcasing her international perspective on Japan's recovery from the 2011 nuclear disaster.
Following her admiration for Japanese culture, Meg Hewitt decided to display her "Tokyo is yours" exhibition in Berlin, allowing a wider audience to engage with her unique perspective on Japan's fragility and resilience.
Source: www.ntv.de
