Black-and-white photos of people praying in front of A-bomb Dome to be exhibited in France
May 28, 2019
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
Works made by photographer Takao Miyakaku, 71, will be displayed at a museum in the city of Strasbourg, located in eastern France, from June 18 through October 19. The photographs are images of A-bomb survivors and visitors in front of the A-bomb Dome in Hiroshima. Mr. Miyakaku, a resident of Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, is originally from Shobara, a city in Hiroshima Prefecture, and is a second-generation A-bomb survivor. Taking such photographs is Mr. Miyakaku’s life’s work as an artist.
The 12 black-and-white photographs are 1.6 meters long by 1.2 meters wide. One photo shows a man offering a prayer with his eyes closed. Another features a woman in a wheelchair with a calm expression on her face attended by her daughter.
France is one of the five major nuclear weapon states. Mr. Miyakaku said, “I would like to see how people in a country that possesses nuclear weapons will react.” He plans to visit France in mid-June and attend a ceremony held at the museum, where he will share his family’s experiences of the atomic bombing.
Mr. Miyakaku’s grandfather and father were at Hiroshima Station when the city was attacked with the atomic bomb. His mother-in-law was in a streetcar about 700 meters from the hypocenter and was exposed to the bomb’s flash. Mr. Miyakaku began photographing people visiting the A-bomb Dome in 2000 and published a collection of his photographs in 2010.
Asked by a France-based artist, he displayed his photos at another museum in Strasbourg in March. These were photos he took in parts of eastern Japan that were hit by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. This time, works by Mr. Miyakaku and the artist in France will be displayed along the museum’s exterior wall.
Mr. Miyakaku said, “I took these photos with the wish for the abolition of nuclear weapons. I will be glad if this exhibition can provide visitors with the opportunity to think about what this outrageous weapon does to human beings.”
(Originally published on May 28, 2019)
Works made by photographer Takao Miyakaku, 71, will be displayed at a museum in the city of Strasbourg, located in eastern France, from June 18 through October 19. The photographs are images of A-bomb survivors and visitors in front of the A-bomb Dome in Hiroshima. Mr. Miyakaku, a resident of Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, is originally from Shobara, a city in Hiroshima Prefecture, and is a second-generation A-bomb survivor. Taking such photographs is Mr. Miyakaku’s life’s work as an artist.
The 12 black-and-white photographs are 1.6 meters long by 1.2 meters wide. One photo shows a man offering a prayer with his eyes closed. Another features a woman in a wheelchair with a calm expression on her face attended by her daughter.
France is one of the five major nuclear weapon states. Mr. Miyakaku said, “I would like to see how people in a country that possesses nuclear weapons will react.” He plans to visit France in mid-June and attend a ceremony held at the museum, where he will share his family’s experiences of the atomic bombing.
Mr. Miyakaku’s grandfather and father were at Hiroshima Station when the city was attacked with the atomic bomb. His mother-in-law was in a streetcar about 700 meters from the hypocenter and was exposed to the bomb’s flash. Mr. Miyakaku began photographing people visiting the A-bomb Dome in 2000 and published a collection of his photographs in 2010.
Asked by a France-based artist, he displayed his photos at another museum in Strasbourg in March. These were photos he took in parts of eastern Japan that were hit by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. This time, works by Mr. Miyakaku and the artist in France will be displayed along the museum’s exterior wall.
Mr. Miyakaku said, “I took these photos with the wish for the abolition of nuclear weapons. I will be glad if this exhibition can provide visitors with the opportunity to think about what this outrageous weapon does to human beings.”
(Originally published on May 28, 2019)
