The Kyotographie exhibition at Japan House London is a haunting reminder of human resilience in the face of catastrophic destruction. Like a masterful artist painting with light, Kikuji Kawada's photography weaves a tapestry of devastation, memory, and rebirth, set against the sombre backdrop of post-Hiroshima America. The free exhibition, a collaboration between the Japanese master and rising star Iwane Ai, plunges visitors into a world where destruction is both visible and invisible.
Kikuji's photographs are like shards of glass that pierce the soul. Taken with his trusty 4x5 plate camera in his youth, they capture remnants of US culture amidst the ravaged Hiroshima landscape – a charred Lucky Strike packet, Coca-Cola bottles in ash, and more. These images were captured when Kikuji was just 12 years old; now, at 93, he offers us a glimpse into one of humanity's darkest hours, his detached, fragmented style an attempt to convey the unimaginable trauma.
The Japan House gallery is transformed into a subterranean sanctum, enveloping visitors in a dimly lit atmosphere that heightens the emotional impact of Kikuji's work. His 'Vortex' projection – a triptych of images from his Instagram feed – dances across screens like wisps of smoke, reminding us that even the most elusive memories can leave lasting scars.
As we move through the exhibition, Iwane Ai's photographs stand as beacons of hope in the darkness. His striking 'Kīpuka: Paia Mantokuji Soto Mission' (2015) UV print features dozens of hands raised during a traditional Bon dance in Hawaii, paying tribute to the ancestral rituals that unite communities torn apart by natural disasters. This curving panoramic image echoes Japan's own funerary traditions in 1930s Hawaii, captured using a hand-wound Kodak Cirkut camera – a poignant reminder that even amidst destruction, renewal is possible.
Ai's photograph serves as a powerful symbol of the Hawaiian term 'Kīpuka', an oasis within new lava that can give rise to life anew. Like Japan's own struggles with earthquakes and tsunamis, Hawaii faces volcanic threats, reminding us that our shared humanity binds us in a narrative of survival and resilience.
Throughout this captivating exhibition, the two photographers remind us that human fragility is intertwined with phantoms – echoes of past events and lost lives. Together, they invite us to reflect on how we as societies grapple with trauma, finding pathways to remembrance and continuity in the darkest of times.