March 2013 marks the second anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of eastern Japan. In the months since the disaster struck, and through much pain and suffering, a spirit of hope has prevailed. Now, The Asahi Shimbun newspaper and the Mitsubishi Corporation (supported by the Embassy of Japan, among others) celebrate the nation’s courage by hosting The Great East Japan Earthquake Press Photo Exhibition in London.
Opening at gallery@oxo (in OXO Tower) on March 5th and running until the 17th, the event represents the British leg of a world tour that will showcase the moving selection of photographs detailing the journey undertaken by those left to rebuild their lives.
Beginning with the initial devastation, the exhibition then charts the country’s subsequent rebuilding process and today’s air of fresh optimism for the future. Indeed, these images encapsulate the light that continues to shine through the tragedy. The exhibition offers an opportunity to both remember the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis that devastated the Tohoku region and gain a sense of the progress made towards recovery since that time.
At a press event to open the exhibit, a lecturer from the Asahi Shimbun gave a short talk accompanied by a presentation of slides showing the incredible amount of damage done and how recovery efforts have been going up to now. The size and scale of the destruction seem unprecedented in modern times, but the speaker was quick to point out that similar disasters have struck Japan in the past, so the people of Japan are somewhat more prepared than those living in other countries.
Still, as one can clearly gather from the photos on display in the gallery, the tsunami was unstoppable and moved so quickly that an entire town was practically wiped out in only twelve minutes. The photos are organized into four different ‘zones’. The first one is labeled ‘2.11’ in reference to the date of the magnitude 9 earthquake and following tsunami. The second zone is ‘Fukushima’ and looks at the nuclear situation in that region. Zone 3 is the self-explanatory ‘Grief’. And lastly, there is Zone 4: ‘Hope’. In this last zone, look out for a stunning photo of a boat perched literally on top of a building as though it had been placed there by a giant.
It should be noted that visitors to this powerful exhibition are invited (though not required) to write a message to people in the disaster zone on a white card with a red crane symbolizing peace and recovery, which will be hung on a cherry blossom tree in the gallery. Aside from any monetary donations to the survivors and recovery efforts, this seems like the appropriate gesture after absorbing the emotional and occasionally horrifying images on display here.
By Tim Holm
Exhibition information
Dates: 5 – 17 March 2013
Opening times: 11am – 6pm
Admission: Free
Venue: gallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf,
South Bank, London, SE1 9PH
