Reconstruction of Forgetting

"To Implore Your Light" is a photographic series that exposes the hidden nuclear legacy embedded in North Adams, MA through the projection of the eyes of nuclear bomb victims both in Japan and the United States.

INTRODUCTION:

To Implore Your Light explores the hidden nuclear legacy in the U.S. through a series of photographic portraits that confront the intertwined histories of American Downwinders and Japanese A-bomb victims. Inspired by my residency at MASS MoCA—formerly the site of Sprague Electric Company, which manufactured components for the atomic bomb—this project connects personal lineage and historical trauma. 

During frigid November nights, I projected 108 eyes, belonging to 54 American Downwinders and 54 Japanese A-bomb victims, onto the very buildings linked to nuclear history. Using a modified camera flash as a temporal projector, the eyes appeared briefly, echoing the blinding flash described by A-bomb survivors. These fleeting projections were photographed, capturing both the eyes and the building surfaces, creating temporal monuments that blend past and present.

BACKGROUND:

Sprague Electric was the company that manufactured a capacitor used in Little Boy, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, affecting my grandfather, then a fifteen-year-old boy and all the other a-bombs detonated that year. 

"Where did I come from?" This ubiquitous question resonates with many, evoking varied responses—some trace their lineage through extensive records, while others confront a void of ancestral history. As for myself, my lineage transcends conventional blood ties. The essence of my existence emerges from a series of interconnected events—a chain reaction set in motion long before my birth. I've come to realize that my very being hinges upon a complex tapestry of people, decisions, and happenstances intertwined within the narrative of nuclear history.

Here, I realized that my origin, once confined to Los Alamos and Hiroshima, expanded beyond these delineated points. It beckoned forth another question: where else does my birth and essence connect? This moment was an intimate, internal affair, culminating in a familial portrait conceived to immortalize our collective experience. Yet, we yearned for something more—an essence still intertwined but more individualistic and personal. This impelled the inception of To Implore Your Light, a series of succinct portraits—testimonies—narrating their stories and embracing our shared origin point.

This work transcends national and racial divides, uniting atomic victims across borders. It challenges the perception that nuclear victimhood is exclusive to Japan, highlighting a shared legacy of suffering. By engaging with the site’s history and my personal narrative—my grandfather’s survival of Hiroshima—the project forges a complex origin story that connects Los Alamos, Hiroshima, and North Adams, Massachusetts.

I choose the number of 108 since 108 is a number with ritual significance in Japanese Buddhism; to mark the Japanese New Year, bells toll 108 times, ridding us of our evil passions and desires, and purifying our souls.

CONCLUSION:

The artistic endeavor, crafted through unconventional processes, emerged as a beacon—a radiant echo etched in the shadows of the unseen. To Implore Your Light serves as a testament to these narratives—etched in black and white photographs and the eventual installation of the 35mm film stills—capturing the spirits, stories, and echoes embedded within the walls, resonating across time and space. These images immortalize the souls whose voices reverberate through this project, sharing testimonies that transcend borders, binding us in a shared narrative of humanity's resilience, suffering, and collective endeavor for understanding.