Read the Air ⏤ Beyond Fukushima
/2022
Narrative Design / Editorial & Book Design
Our bodies are closely connected to the atmosphere through the respiratory system. On March 12, 2011, when the atmosphere in Fukushima, Japan, became filled with 'bad air,' the fear of inhaling invisible harm into a body and belonging to a place tainted by polluted air led to spatial, social, and political divisions among people. These divisions then transformed into an ambiguous and complex social atmosphere. Even though the media no longer reports on Fukushima as it once did, its effects still linger invisibly within the land. “Read the air” is a Japanese expression that refers to understanding the social atmosphere or the invisible in a broader sense. Through interviews with locals and a review of external media coverage, Read the Air explores the alternating reality of Fukushima.
Special thanks to People in Fukushima