KG+ Exhibition: Yuki Iwanami

【Statement】

In the Aso region of Kumamoto, where 50,000 people live within a vast caldera formed by an eruption 90,000 years ago, lies Japan's largest grassland. This grassland is the source of spring water, fertilizer, rice paddies, and fields, all of which circulate and form the basis of human life.

The grasslands of Aso, which have existed for more than 1,000 years, are, however, "temporary nature" that has been modified by humans. Without cattle grazing, grass gathering for fodder, or field burning, the grasslands would turn into thickets and forests. Due to the recent decline in the livestock industry and the lack of successors, the area of grasslands has been reduced by half compared to 1920s. It is difficult for livestock farmers alone to maintain the grasslands, and the symbiosis with nature that used to maintain the balance is now at a crossroads.

Through the nuclear power plant accident that I have been dealing with since 2011 and the experience of the pandemic a few years ago, I have strongly felt that humans are part of nature and that we are kept alive by it. Nature provides us with both damage and benefits. Although we humans have always been eager to conquer and subjugate nature, I have always felt that we can only accept it and live with it. And here in Aso, this has been practiced for a long time.

The Aso region was severely damaged by the Kumamoto earthquake in 2016. We realize that our life exists through the repetition of destruction and rebirth by nature over a long period of time. The burning of wildfires dares to destroy by human hands and revive anew. The flames remind me of the mythical firebird.

The question, "Why do people live?" Regardless of the answer, we owe our existence to nature. For at least 1,000 years, the people of Aso have lived in harmony with nature, which sometimes destroys us.

This project, "FIRE BIRD," visually conveys the symbiosis between people and nature in Aso, a place of repeated destruction and rebirth.


【Profile】

Yuki Iwanami

Photographer born in Nagano. After working in the photo department of a newspaper company, I moved to Fukushima following the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. His work focuses on themes such as the relationship between land and people, exploring the essence of humanity through photography. He has received awards including the Irie Taikichi Commemorative Photo Award and won the W. Eugene Smith Grant.