Silent Existence

Japan has been suffering from the aftermath of the tremendous Earthquake and Tsunami that devastated vast areas in North Eastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The disaster was an immense shock to the nation, and the quake and tsunami laid waste to whole towns and villages along the Pacific coast.
Over the years I have been working on Japan as theme of my art, investigating pathos in relation to historical, social, and economic issues involving industrialization and urban development and social development. Since I regard the 311 disasters as a new page in Japanese postwar history, it was only natural for me to visit the Tsunami affected area not only to face the reality also to feel something there.
In the face of an encounter with the devastated landscape, I lapsed into silence, undeciding to accept all spectacles in front of me. There was only my existence, sensing sea wind and an odd smell, and seeing birds flying in unprecedented devastation at dusk, which conducted me into contemplation on the complexity of resolving the human existence to nature.
Amid chaos, spontaneously I began to seek the beauty of things as if it were a spiritual practice, and I was drawn towards the idea that the beauty could be the way to reach the truth. Through the practice I pursue my beliefs and identities rather than simple facts that are either black or white. Although I am continually looking for the truth, there is also a feeling within me that believes that a single truth does not exist. These photographs attempt to portray only one version, but by doing so, I also endeavor to bring out other truths that may lie between human and nature.

Photo Gallery