ATOMICA

This summer, I was involved with a group show, "ATOMICA,' which my boss, an Italian independent curator, curated. The show was about an atomic bomb. The purpose of it was to lead people to the awareness of the reality of this awful weapon. The show was composed of 35 artists' artworks: paintings, photographs, installations, and sculptures. She conceived the show 7 years ago, and it finally took place this year. Coincidentally enough, this year was the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagaski's bombs. I believe that this was not just coincident. Neither was my involvement. What was interesting that the show was not conducted by Japanese. To be honest, I didn't even remember that this year was the 60th anniversary, yet the show gave me an oppotunity not only to remind about what had happened in Japan, but also to rethink about my responsibility and identity as Japanese. I never was conceptual art before, but during the show, I was impressed by the fact that there were a lot of things to tell through the visual arts. Sometimes, words can be condescending. The visual arts leave the space for us to interpret in our own way, which becomes even more convincing. The show was over, yet, I felt necessity for the show to expose to the world because of the content as well as the quality of each artworks.