【Upcoming Exhibition / 2017.03】

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© Kazuma Obara 2017/ photo courtesy of Anno Teruko

○ 2017. 03. 10. fri. - 03. 20. mon. 13:00 - 19:00

○ Charge ¥500(with One drink)

Indiscriminate bombing by U.S. forces during the Pacific War massacred 330,000 Japanese citizens and injured 430,000 others. More than 9.7 million people were left homeless, as some 2.23 million homes were damaged in over 200 different cities. These are some of the stories that emerged out of that enormous destruction. A girl lost her left foot at the age of six and a firebomb left a newborn baby's foot literally in flames. A boy suffered burns over his entire body. Another girl lost all six members of her family, becoming an orphan in the blink of an eye.

Japan achieved its economic recovery in the wake of wartime devastation. This remarkable growth has been dubbed the "Japanese economic miracle." In spite of this unprecedented prosperity, however, children with war injuries have been forced to live harsh lives, unable to cure their wounds.

They have lived in the shadows, hiding their scars and sparing others the pain of seeing them, doing their utmost to conceal their pain. . .


【Related Events】

March 10. fri. Opening Talk 19:00-20:00 Free Charge(Entrance Fee required)

March 11. sat. Talk Event / Tohoku Earthquake Disaster "Fill the Groove" 19:00-20:00 Charge/¥1,500

March 19. sun. Talk & Picture story show / Osaka Air Raid 14:00-16:00 Charge/¥1,500
         By Teruko Anno, Hideko Kobayashi & Mariko Fujiwara (Picture story show)


Kazuma Obara

Kazuma Obara (Japan, 1985) is a photojournalist based in the UK and Japan. Focusing on hidden victims in society is a theme he explores in his projects. After the tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011, he resigned from his job in financial industry to begin documenting the disaster area where his best friend's house was located, photographing from inside Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Obara was the first photojournalist to convey the story from inside the plant. His work in the disaster areas was published as the photobook Reset Beyond Fukushima, published by Lars Müller Publishers, Switzerland in March 2012.

In 2014, he focused on victims of World War Two in Japan and his self published photobook Silent Histories was shortlisted for Paris Photo/Aperture Photo Book Award and was selected for TIME, Lens Culture, and Telegraph Best Photobook 2014. Silent Histories was also published by Editorial RM in 2015 as new edition. This edition was nominated various best book 2016 such as Arles Photobook Author Award, Kassel Best Photobook.

Continuing his pursuit of nuclear issues as a long term project, Obara was focusing on victims of Chernobyl nuclear accident. His project 'Exposure' which was attempted to reveal invisible victims of Chernobyl accident by using old Ukrainian film was selected for World Press Photo 2015 People category 1st prize and won Athens Photo Festival Portfolio review 2015. This work was also nominated Magnum Lens culture Award 2016. His series of picture in Chernobyl will be published as photo book from Editorial RM in 2016.
In 2015, he studied at London College of Communication Photojournalism and Documentary Photography MA course and got a master's degree. He was nominated Magnum Photos Graduate Photographers Award.
In 2016, he is selected one of the photographers to exhibit the work at Festival Photo Reporter in France and engaging new project about victims of nuclear testing at Bikini atoll.
A partner photographer of Swiss photo agency Keystone, his photographs appear in The Guardian, Courier international, ZEIT, El Mund, Le Point, BBC, NHK, IMA Magazine, Wired Japan and so forth.