Drive in Fukushima
2016-
Installation @Fukushima Biennale 2016
Collaboration with Koji Furuta
Answers from questionnaires
Wood, glasses, ceramics, nails, monitor, dvd player, table, paper, ink, pens, thread, soil, paper, inkjet ink, pillow
Juri Suzuki is an artist based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Tokyo, Japan. For her current project “Drive in Fukushima” she is collaborating with moviemaker Koji Furuta. Juri Suzuki and Koji Furuta were both born and raised in Fukushima. They recently have driven through Fukushima to take a movie of the current scenery. During the trip, Juri collected objects from the environment of Fukushima such as soil, water and wood.
While driving by car, they interviewed people who’re living in Fukushima. Juri also gathered daily necessities such as cups, glasses and chair that people threw away as garbage. The work Drive in Fukushima is showing the movie the environment of Fukushima, interviews with citizens and an installation made from daily necessities.
The Fukushima Catastrophe in 2011 had a great impact on people living in Fukushima but also on people living elsewhere in Japan. While living in the Netherlands at that moment, Juri was shocked to hear this news from her hometown. The catastrophe made her realise that the everyday news provided by the Internet was always related with someone’s personal life. For her, the Fukushima Catastrophe was a big change for her. But for people who live in the rest of the world, it was just one of the everyday news.
The Fukushima Catastrophe also completely changed her perspective on the politics of Japan. She is more aware of the spectacle made by mass media and more critical to information on the Internet.
In case of her research, Juri would like to ask you some questions. What is the biggest catastrophe happened to you so far? Did you have a similar experience of big news that directly connected your life?