A Body in Fukushima: A Live Conversation with Eiko Otake and William Johnston (Interactive Group Video Session – 29th June 2021)

Photo of Eiko Otake in Fukushima by William Johnston

“By putting my body in these places, I thought of the generations of people who used to live there. Now desolate, only time and wind continue to move. ”

— Eiko Otake

“By witnessing events and places, we actually change them and ourselves in ways that may not always be apparent but are important. Through photographing Eiko in these places in Fukushima, we are witnessing not only her and the places themselves, but the people whose lives crossed with those places. ”

— William Johnston

A Body in Fukushima is a collaborative photography project by Eiko Otake and William Johnston. Eiko Otake is a movement-based, interdisciplinary artist and William Johnston is a photographer and a professor of Japanese history at Wesleyan University. Together they have produced a compelling and deeply moving series of dance photography exploring Eiko’s response and movement within abandoned areas in Fukushima since the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns of 2011. Between 2014 and 2019 Eiko Otake and William Johnston made five visits to irradiated and abandoned spaces, where Eiko danced “embodying bitter grief, anger, and remorse, sometimes in vulnerable gestures and at other times dancing fiercely.” This project has grown into photo exhibitions, video installations, film screenings, and a book. Following the book’s publication on 1st June 2021, we will be joined by Eiko Otake and William Johnston to discuss this project.

This session will be run as part of the Exploding Appendix Avant-garde Art Practice and Research Group’s fortnightly meetup, which will be taking place online via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7317698673?pwd=OTlBN3RzalBRMGh1TW9qSHNDWmptdz09). The meeting ID is 834 4263 0530.  The passcode is “714908“. This session will be run by Bradley Tuck and take place on the 29th June 2021 from 19:30 – 22:30 (BST UK time). If you would like to join us for the session, or have any questions please message me at explodingappendix@gmail.com