Friday, August 29, 2014

In the book "It is Bitter to Leave Your Home" by Romano Hanni, he discusses the 3/11 disasters (victims of Chernobyl and Fukashima) through Japanese symbols and little quotes. Also he printed the quotes on paper towels instead of paper. My question is, what was the symbolism of him printing the quotes on paper towels as a way of representing disaster in visual culture?

Artist Romano Hänni's book It is Bitter to Leave Your Home is about the tragedy that occurs from man-made disasters. While one could categorize the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi incidents as natural disasters—especially the latter which was caused by a tsunami—the lethal element of these events was from unnatural creations or systems, such as nuclear reactors.
The reason why Romano Hänni decided to use paper towels as his medium, or canvas, is it represents what is disposable. A paper towel is fragile in nature just like the precariousness of human life. Additionally, a paper towel was invented as a cleaning product. In the case of Fukushima, the government tried to create an illusion of safety by trying to construct an environment of normalcy rather than primarily concentrate on thorough clean-up efforts.
https://www.romano-haenni.ch/

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