HOME works 2011


  • Photographer
    Iwauko Murakami
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Date of Photograph
    2011-2012
  • Technical Info
    film and digital process

These photographs were taken to consider and see what happened in my mother's house after the terrible earthquake on 11th March in 2011. The house was located in a city near the center of the shock. Everyone asked me “Are you OK? ” These facts must have meant I was OK; I experienced neither the earthquake nor the aftermath in the disaster area, my family was alive and my parents' houses were not carried away by tsunami and still standing. Every time I was asked, I lied and hurt myself. This didn't happen to me only there were many people fell into depressions called the earthquake's causing depression. After two months, I launched my work to face those continuous events and a real experience of my own with all my grief and gratitude to our life. I continued to observe the house with anxiety and relief for a year.

Story

These photographs were taken in order to consider and see what happened in my mother's house after the terrible earthquake on 11th March in 2011. The house was located in a nearby city near the center of the shock. I experienced the earthquake in Tokyo because I had lived there far away from my hometown for six years. After a week of hard time, I had been worrying about missing relatives, and suffered from violent and shocking images and news coming from the mass media, I could confirm the safety of my family.
Tsunami did not reach my mother's house. I did not experience the aftermath in the disaster area. Everything never allowed me to treat myself as a victim. There was courage; such a natural thing never depresses us, we can get over this, we don't stop recovering. I know someone should show this and I was naturally included in those without my will. Because I was not there, my family was not killed and my parents' homes were not carried away by tsunami and still standing where they had been.
Everyone asked me with all their goodness “Are you OK? What about your family and your parents' houses? ” I answered, “I am OK. Everyone is fine. Their houses stand, fortunately. Thank you for asking.” It was all I could say. However, I was not really fine, rather depressed or almost mentally injured deeply. I wanted to dive into grief and needed enough time to accept all unbelievable occurrences calmly. Meanwhile, every time I was asked, I lied and hurt myself worse. This didn't really happen to me only because there were many people not having special relations to the disaster regions who were in so low spirits that they fell into depressions. This syndrome was called the earthquake's causing depression.
I knew many photographers went to the disaster area and got back with many images, as you know. They must have been a big help for the society and the world to show how horrible those calamities were. Looking at them, I had the faith I didn't become one of them because I was an artist not a journalist and it was my hometown; I won't help to make any more hidden victims.
After two months, I stood up to launch my work to face those continuous events and a real experience of my own. I understood that my aim was exactly what no one might mention, with all my grief and gratitude to our life.
I recalled the first day I had returned to my mother's house a week after the earthquake. My mother explained to me what really happened to her and what she did at home. At first, I reproduced the circumstance she told me about and photographed it. Then, I continued to observe the house with anxiety and relief for a year.

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