When photographer Miyako Ishiuchi was presented with an archive of Hiroshima atomic blast artifacts recovered by Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, she approached the project delicately.
Andrew Roth, who is featuring Ishiuchi’s photos in his gallery, said that her photos are not meant to be viewed as a “nostalgic project”.
In an interview with Slate, Roth said, “Since she’s often had an interest in how the body ages, she’s careful to choose artifacts… that had contact with the body,” Roth said.
In Ishiuchi's photos, she featured a variety of clothes and objects that showed physical scars from the atomic blast that took place in 1945, making viewers wonder about the fate of its previous owners.
“It's the body that she’s interested in and these artifacts take on a kind of life... It's more about getting to know the dress or the shirt today and what it has to say,” Roth said.
Scroll down to view a selection of Ishiuchi’s work, which will be featured in an exhibit, Here and Now: Atomic Bomb Artifacts, ひろしま/Hiroshima 1945/2007—, at Andrew Roth gallery from 18 September to 21 November 2014.
[via Slate, images via Timemachine]