Abandoned Boutique, Fukushima, 2017
About this series
On St. Patrick's Day, my brother woke up and headed to the Irish pub near his house in Wichita, KS. He ate a sandwich, downed some drinks and made small talk while texting friends about their party plans. He left early without fanfare, returned home, took out a gun and shot himself in the head. 7 years earlier, the 4th largest earthquake ever recorded hit the Tōhoku region of Japan. A massive tsunami reached 6 miles inland. Resulting power outages triggered 3 nuclear meltdowns. Residents had only minutes to evacuate, many never received the alert. 20k dead. Thousands remain missing. 225k still displaced. Family homes destroyed. Pets abandoned. Heirlooms lost to the waves. Seemingly unrelated events which had a significant impact on my life, I find myself comparing them constantly. I see the lasting effects in the lives of those left behind. I feel the struggle, the potential. Abrupt devastation. Unanswerable questions. Unfinished projects.
Other pieces in the Unfinished Projects seriesThe March 2011 disaster in Japan was actually a triple event. An earthquake + a tsunami followed up by nuclear meltdowns. One punch right after another, with some places avoiding the first but taking the brunt of the next. Okuma didn't suffer much earthquake damage and was far enough inland to avoid the tsunami, but the radiation landed a direct hit. Evacuated almost immediately, and located deep inside the exclusion zone, it was almost untouched nearly 7 years later. Restaurants still had place settings on tables and shops were full of merchandise. I try to imagine people fleeing, grabbing only enough for a few days and expecting a swift return. And the eventual realization that they could never go back. There's before, and there's after. And that's it. 6000x4000 Leica Q (Type 116), 28mm f/8 — My brother's suicide. The Tōhoku earthquake. Seemingly unrelated events which had a significant impact on my life. Abrupt devastation. Unanswerable questions. Unfinished projects.
Technical details
- Chain
- Ethereum
- Contract
- 0x3978…0cc5b
- Token ID
- 8
- Token standard
- ERC-721
- Minted
- Dec 2, 2021
- Metadata
- IPFS
- Also on
- Raster.art
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