Still Crazy by Taishi Hirokawa

The images above are iPad screen grabs.

"Born and raised by the seashore, the photographer observed the coastline that transformed along with Japan's rapid post-war economic growth. He captures, quite serenely, the nuclear power plants that appeared on the coasts of Japan and the transfiguration of countryside that came with it.

Are we to live forever with this edifice of convenience, or have we taken into hands something ungovernable?

One thing for certain is that human beings and nuclear energy have become inseparable, and that we enjoy its benefit at all times.

As if a specimen, the power plants are labeled by the date they were photographed. These plants are to be dismantled in over 40 years.

This, nonetheless, is a typical scenery of modern Japan."  Asahi Media International Inc.

Format: App compatible with iPad and iPhone.

Price: $7.99

Links: iTunes and Asahi Media International Inc.

Comment: The photos from 1991-1993 were first published in 1994 and again in this app in July 2011, about four months after the tsunami in Japan. The app is a very simple design, and admittedly, this work wouldn't have been as fascinating without the tragical Fukushima nuclear disaster. The photos appear very neutral and don't appear as beautiful or perfected as we've seen from the likes of Edward Burtynsky and Mitch Epstein, who've both dealt with energy in different ways. It's as if Hirokawa simply wanted to show things as they were and still are. To have shot this body of work roughly 20 years before Fukushima, and to be able to say he was right, is indeed impressive and sad at the same time. 

RATING:

Content: 17/20

Design: 10/15

Value: 4/5

TOTAL: 31/40