Most likely, the flames will destroy themselves
火は火みずからを滅ぼすだろう
Deeds done with the noblest intentions can lead to dire consequences.
The interconnectivity of cause and effect - every action provokes a reaction.
A visit to Okunoshima, an islet in the Seto Inland Sea and the site of Japan’s secret chemical weapons program during WWII, took me on a path to learn about the complexity of one of the principal scientists of the 20th century, Fritz Haber. Before going down in history as the father of chemical warfare, Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1918 for his invention of synthesized ammonia, mainly used as an agricultural fertilizer but also a powerful ingredient in explosives. This discovery changed the course of humanity forever; access to unlimited and cheap fertilizer is the chief reason our world has gone through an unprecedented population growth in the last century.
Haber went onto develop poisonous gas for the German army during and after WWI. As the lead scientist Haber was at the frontline at the battle of Ypres 1915, the first time chemical warfare was implemented.
Haber born a Jew converted to Christianity in a bid to advance his career.
His inventions and discoveries eventually lead to the development of Zyklon B, the gas used by Nazis to kill Jews in the millions.
Complexities and contradictions
Consider the philosophy of utilitarianism (for the better good).
When Haber decided to develop and eventually part-take in the release of chlorine gas on the enemy at Ypres he was convinced it was the humane thing to do; end the war swiftly and reduce the total number of casualties. Similar reasoning has been told, however contested, about the use of A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Haber’s infamous development of chemical munitions caused death and suffering in great numbers while his Nobel award winning invention of synthesized ammonia used in fertilizers helped sustain an explosive population growth on our planet, at a cost - excess use of fertilizers decrease the quality of soil, pollute fresh water supply and oceans, affecting our entire echo system.
* Present day Okunoshima has been turned into a park with a large population of wild rabbits introduced after the war. Curiously rabbits were commonly used to test the effectiveness of the various gases and chemical munitions at the plant during the war.
Part one at Ken Nakahashi Gallery
The human figure, a reoccurring theme in my art practice, exposed, obfuscated and dichotomized by hazy color blocks: portrayed vulnerable and assailed, indicating the spoils of human impudence and repercussions of our own ingenuity, attempting to find their ground while navigating manmade chaos.
700x825mm washi on wood panel, abraded surface, text in crayon
Part two at LOWW Gallery Tokyo
Okunoshima, kept secret throughout its brief history as the center of Japan’s chemical munitions program, even removed from official maps from 1927 until the end of the war when all documents concerning its activities were destroyed and locals ordered not to speak of it. The truth eventually reached the US allied forces whom upon inspection ordered the immediate destruction of the stockpile of chemicals and poisonous gases left behind. Some were dumped in the ocean or buried. A few cisterns too large to be moved were simply set ablaze. Those larger size cistern were housed in concrete domes mold into mountain walls. Scorch marks left on the concrete from the incineration are still visible as recorded in this series of photographs; ammonium oxidized UV cured prints on brass metal.
When encountered the crepuscular late summer’s light provided the scorch marks a fantastical sense of beauty - the glowing walls reminisced of golden screen paintings - and triggered something akin to apophenia;the tendency to assign a (visual) meaning to random patterns. (consider the antonym ‘epiphany’).
400x500mm ammonium oxidized UV cured ink on brass sheet
Peripheral closeups of fireworks captured at the nebulous junction where the vivid colors of the festive explosions fade and blend into irrecoverable hues.
Pyrotechnics is a rare instance when explosives are used in a non-destructive manner, the ancient Chinese art of fireworks of course predates Haber’s discovery of synthesized ammonium; these images symbolize the complex relationship between ‘destruction and celebration’, ‘chaos and order’, ‘violence and peace’ - fused vapors alluding to ammonium being a powerful combustible used in modern bomb manufacturing
350x350mm washi on wood panel, abraded surface
COSMOSOPHY
‘The eye has to travel’ - Diane Vreeland
My practice tends to long-term theme-specific projects involving research and writing but throughout there are moments, especially when detached from the daily routine, such as travels, where I photograph what catches my eye. Sequestered from a specific project it’s work nonetheless, waiting for its context.
When first approached by Biscuit gallery about a duo show with Okada and consequently asked for a title I sat with a small series of such images - specifically cosmos flowers - photographed in my eponymous style of obfuscation. This serendipitous and admittedly prosaic titling of the exhibition became a passage for a more playful and experimental approach to the works themselves.
While considering the vaster meaning of ‘cosmos’, the 1977 Voyager satellite came to mind. I was only 5 at the time of the launch but its newsworthiness held its sway throughout the 80’s and I remember Voyager’s advances into deep space being carefully tracked and studied in school. Voyager’s most precious and fascinating payload was the golden media discs. At the time they symbolized all the technological advancements of humanity and contained messages for the aliens in forms of recordings, images, scripts and graphs.
The future looked bright as humanity had advanced to the point of feeling equal to what was previously assumed superior alien life forms.
Even as first graders, critical thinking was encouraged and we discussed at length whether the information contained on the golden discs was comprehensible to aliens. Experts voiced their opinions in the media, some condemning the Voyager mission as being straight-out dangerous: an invite for alien hostilities.
Around that same age I was fascinated with the Morse code – its thrilling aura of adventure, exploration and secret agents - but also, for a kid in the pre-digital era, Morse code’s an exceptional means of communication as it can be expressed in various sensory ways: light, sound and touch being the most obvious.
I sub-titled my part of the duo exhibition ‘cosmosophy’.
All works are UV cured ink on wood panels, post-treated with paint, a nod to Okada’s painterly works. Added wood pieces spell Morse code in Latin, alluding to the etymology of ‘cosmos’ and hinting at the relatively rapid rise and fall of a lingua franca throughout civilization.
The works’ lettering, when read in a particular order, spells:
“cosmosophy omni est”* (cosmosophy is everything)
In collaboration with German musician duo Arigto, a track built around the Morse code for “cosmosophy omni est” was produced. In addition to the repeated sound of Morse code, original voice recordings as well as one – abstracted - music file from the Voyager discs were added.
115 images depicting life on earth are encoded onto the Voyager discs.
Arigto choose two - one of a fetus and one of humans - and transcribed them into sound; barely audible but imprinted in the track’s low frequency spectrogram, the clarity of the images fluctuates due to interference of other low frequency sounds inherent to Arigto’s composition.
A fetus, like Voyager, is allegorically floating in a space between two worlds.
The works presented should be seen as sketches, no longer sequestered, instead forming a future long-term project.
The eye can travel, the mind can go further.
*disclaimer: this is not the grammatically correct way as a sentence, rather the words are meant to stand alone. Anybody proficient in Latin would certainly understand the message.
