Mitsuko Taniguchi

Equivalent

I shot these photographs in the Tohoku region of Japan, which was devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Many people lost their families and homes. The damage caused by the tsunami was so extensive and widespread that the reconstruction of the affected areas took a very long time. Reconstruction work in the affected areas is still ongoing. The lights in the windows of the buildings remind us of the warmth and presence of people there, and the certainty of their existence. The title of this work is a quote from the title of the work by the American master Alfred Stieglitz. Stieglitz\'s 《equivalent》 was a series of photographs of clouds floating in the sky, and was a philosophical photographic expression of what is “equivalent”. What is “equivalent” in today\'s world? Is there a difference between the light and heavy aspects of human life, existence, and the joys of daily life? There are people who lose their “ordinary” lives due to huge disasters, economic crises, pandemic. And now, in Ukraine, people are suffering from the sudden destruction of their homes by war. I created this work with the prayer that those who have lost their normal lives will not lose hope and will regain their normal lives as soon as possible. I am continuing this project and have photographed in areas beyond the disaster-affected areas in the Tohoku region.