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Accepted Paper:

A future for memory through photographs: In the aftermath of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami  
Fuyubi Nakamura (University of British Columbia)

Paper short abstract:

I reflect on the relief activities that I was involved with in the aftermath of the 3/11 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. By focussing on rescuing 'objects of memory', especially photographs, from the debris, I consider the relationship between objects, images, and memory.

Paper long abstract:

What would we look for if our hometown were swept away? Memory in material form? The tsunami—triggered by the massive earthquake that hit north-eastern Japan on 11 March 2011—ruthlessly swallowed up several towns along the costal line, taking away the lives of numerous people. In the aftermath of the disaster, various kinds of local residents' possessions—if they were deemed 'valuable'—were rescued from the debris. These recovered items were often called omoide no shina or 'objects of memory', which included family albums and photographs. The items were then cleaned by volunteers and later displayed with the hope of reconnecting them with their owners, or their family or friends.

I reflect on the relief activities that I was involved with in Utatsu in Minamisanriku, Miyagi, northeastern Japan, from late May until late August 2011, in the aftermath of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. Minamisanriku was one of the towns swept away by the tsunami. I focus on one of the relief activities - that of rescuing 'objects of memory', especially photographs. Although damaged or fragmented, images in photographic prints survived because they are material objects, whereas digital images—stored on hard disks, CDs or memory sticks—were damaged in the water. Because of their materiality, photographic prints became not only objects and traces of memory but also serve as relics. I consider the relationship between objects, images, and memory when people have lost virtually everything, as they did in this disaster.

Panel P10
Engaging Disaster: Photography on Unsettled Ground
  Session 1