Afterimage Requiem

February 8, 2018 4:39 PM

Afterimage Requiem is a large-scale visual and sound installation by Kei Ito and Andrew Paul Keiper that probes the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and their intertwined family histories. The exhibition includes 108 human-scale photograms made using sunlight, light sensitive paper and Ito’s body evoking those lost in the bombing, and a 4-channel sound work that portrays the places and processes of the bomb’s production, and includes field recordings made at atomic heritage sites in New Mexico and Chicago.

In January, the work had its debut exhibition at the War Memorial in Baltimore.

Gallery — Afterimage Requiem

'Requiem' for Hiroshima, a timely artistic warning, to go on display in Baltimore [Baltimore Sun, auto-playing video]

One worked on the A-bomb. The other was a victim. How their grandsons now create art together. [Washington Post Magazine]

The artists healing the wounds of Hiroshima [BBC Culture, auto-playing video]

posted by shoesfullofdust (4 comments total)

I really like the idea of these people collaborating on this project, and I quite like the choice of methods - the visual element evokes a nice atomic age Pompeii vibe, which suits. The poses seem a bit over-dramatic though - it looks like they're trying to capture the moment of people being vaporised, which, y'know, would come as a surprise. It'd feel more real, or more impactful (for me), if the poses were more mundane - no time to look up from your bowl of cereal when you're being incinerated in a fraction of a second.

I'd love to see more art on this theme - the inter-generational effects of humanity's worst technological choices. Reflections on what gets remembered, and what that feels like and means, reminders of what's been, and reflections on how we're forgetting, what we're forgetting, and why.
posted by threecheesetrees at 6:55 PM on February 8, 2018

Beautiful work. A photographer with a familial, soulful, almost genetic connection to the lethality of light... beyond words.

I have an uneasy relationship with artist statements. Even in this case, the abstraction of the work is transforming and wordlessly evocative in itself. But that deep background... Damn.
posted by mondo dentro at 7:08 PM on February 8, 2018

I wish I could hear more of Keiper's sound environment, but the guy has some experimental ambient chops. I found a project of his on SoundCloud, shudderingnoisemachine, and a collaboration with SINIUS.
posted by mondo dentro at 7:26 PM on February 8, 2018

Oh, I missed all the audio at his link in the FPP. Duh! Awesome!
posted by mondo dentro at 7:35 PM on February 8, 2018