Keiko Sasaoka solo exhibition “Difference 3.11”
the exhibition series of “Remebrance 3.11”
Mar 7 – 13, 2012
Ginza Nikon Salon, Tokyo
https://www.nikon-image.com/activity/exhibition/salonarchive/2012/03_ginza.html#02
笹岡啓子個展「Difference 3.11」
ニコンサロン連続企画展「Remembrance 3.11」
2012年3月7日－13日
銀座ニコンサロン
Difference 3.11
震災から一ヶ月経った4月、はじめて被災地へ行った。釜石市の高台で、私はカメラを取り出すこともできないまま眼下に拡がる町をみつめていた。そこで地元出身の方から「となりの大槌町はもっとひどい。広島に落ちた原爆が落ちたみたいだよ」という話を聞いた。広島出身の私はその表現に驚き、大槌町へ向かった。
車の窓ごしから見た町の印象は、確かに写真で見たことのある被爆直後の広島に似ていた。県道から海側へ、JR大槌駅のあった周辺を一人で歩いた。一面に茶褐色のがれきが拡がり、復旧用の道路が数本、白く交差していた。吉里吉里へ抜ける大槌橋から見ると、遮るものが無くなって、町を囲む山並みだけがくっきりと見渡せた。
冷たい海風が吹いて、肌寒い。砂塵が舞って目を開けていられない。焼け焦げた匂いと魚が腐ったような匂いが鼻をつく。折れ曲がったトタンが音をたてて転がっていく。骨組みが剥き出しになったビルの残骸がぶら下がったまま揺れている。よく見ると、がれきの間に行方不明者を捜索する人の姿がある。大槌町で見た光景は、3月11日以降、テレビやインターネットで繰り返し見てきた被災地の写真や映像の印象とも違っていた。いままで写真を撮ってきて、見たように写ったことは一度もない。もちろん、それを望んでもいない。歩いている間、たくさんのイメージが頭の中に浮かんでは消えていった。私はここで、はじめてシャッターを切った。
大槌町を撮影した後、津波の痕が生々しい三陸沿岸をゆっくりと南下していき、さらに、目に見えない原発の災禍に見舞われた阿武隈山地へと撮影地を拡げていった。あの釜石の高台で聞いた言葉の直接的な響きが、いまもずっと身体の奥に残っている。
*笹岡啓子「ステートメント Difference 3.11」、『Remembrance 3.11』株式会社ニコン ニコンサロン事務局、2013年、pp.17-28
It was one month after the earthquake in March 2011, I went to the disaster area for the first time. On a hill in Kamaishi city, I stared down at the town spread below my eyes as I remained unable to even reach for my camera. At there I heard from a local person, “Neighboring Otsuchi town is much worse. It’s like the atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima dropped on it.” For me being from Hiroshima, I was surprised to hear that expression and I headed to Otsuchi town.
Indeed, the impression I received through the car window was quite similar to the pictures I had seen of Hiroshima right after it was bombed. I walked alone from the prefectural road to the seaside, where the JR Otsuchi Station used to be. Spread on one side was dark reddish-brown rubble and a few white restorative roads intersecting each other. From the Otsuchi bridge which passes through to Kirikiri town, no obstructions remained and only the mountain range that surrounds town could be seen with clarity.
The cold sea breeze blows and it is chilly. Because of the dust clouds I am unable to keep my eyes open. The burnt smell and smell of decayed fish sting my nose. A bent sheet of iron makes noise as it rolls by. Remnants of a building where the framework was exposed are hanging and swinging. Looking closely, there is a figure of a person searching for missing people among the wreckage. The sight I saw at Otsuchi town was different from the pictures and video footage I repeatedly saw on TV and the internet since March 11th. Pictures I have taken up until today, they have never reflected what I actually saw. Of course, that is not my desire either. During my walk, many images came to my mind and disappeared. Here, is where I took my first picture.
After photographing Otsuchi town, I slowly traveled south along the Sanriku coast where traces of the tsunami were still raw. Furthermore, I expanded my shooting area to the Abukuma mountains that was hit by the invisible nuclear disaster. The words I heard on the hill in Kamaishi city that day still resonates in my body.
*Keiko Sasaoka, Statement: Difference 3.11, Remembrance 3.11, Exhibition Catalogue, Nikon Salon, 2013, pp.17-28.
Keiko Sasaoka 