
The Story of Making Lies
The Story of Making Lies 2015
We made this work with people who can’t go back their home because of the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima and still live in temporary housing. We asked them to remove barricades that block the way to home with Photoshop. Those barricades are removed on the screen, however the conversation while removing shows us invisible barricades that stand between the past and now.
ウソをつくった話 (2015)
福島の仮設住宅に住む帰還困難者たちと共に、故郷へと続く道を封鎖するバリケードをPhotoshopで消していく作品。データ上のバリケードが消されていく一方、作業中に交わされる会話は過去と現在の間に立ちふさがってしまった見えないバリケードを浮き彫りにしていく。
Following the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear powerplant accident in March 2011, 160,000 citizens were evacuated from their homes. Citizens ability to enter was restricted to within 20 kilometers of the powerplant, and all roads leading to the difficult-to-return zone were barricaded. The decontamination of the area is not yet finished, and still 43,000 citizens (record of December, 2018) are unable to return to their homes. Kyun-Chome opened computer classes in the temporary housing where the evacuated citizens reside, and taught them how to use Photoshop. After photographing their hometowns (Okuma, Tomioka, Futaba, and other cities), Kyun-Chome held a workshop where together with the citizens. During the workshop, the citizens deleted the barricades and bags of nuclear waste from the images. This video piece is documentation of the dialogue and emotions that were stimulated in the process.
The video work captures the screen of the computer as the evacuated citizens use Photoshop to gradually delete the obstacles that prevent them from returning home. The video is accompanied by conversations in real-time as they share their feelings about their actions and the situation in front of the screen. Sometimes, Photoshop mis-operations lead to the deletion of houses or cherry-blossoms near their homes which they should be familiar with, causing laughter. Contrary to the joyful mood, comments such as, “They should just flatten the place” and, “I don’t want to go home any more”, reveal their real feelings or thoughts that are hidden and do not appear in mainstream media. By partaking in this unrealistic play of imagination, the participants became able to express thoughts that they usually conceal or repress. Talking while they work, the participants began to share a variety of related problems they face such as economic decline due to old-age, or the problem of insurance surrounding the decontamination process.
2011年3月に起きた福島第一原子力発電所の事故により、約16万人の避難民が発生し、原発から半径20kmへの立ち入りが禁止され、帰還困難区域内へのすべての道はバリケードで封鎖された。除染作業は未だ終わらず、2018年現在も約5万人が自宅へ帰れずに避難生活を送っている。キュンチョメは、避難民の住む仮設住宅でパソコン教室を定期的に開催し、彼らに画像編集ソフトのフォトショップの使い方を教えた。そして避難民の故郷(大熊、富岡、双葉など)の写真を撮影したのち、そこに写るバリケードや、放置される放射性廃棄物のゴミ袋を、彼らとともに画像編集ソフトで消していくというワークショップを行った。本作は、その過程で生まれる対話や感情の揺れを記録した映像作品である。
映像には”フォトショップ”の画面が映し出され、避難民自らの手によって、画面上にある彼らの帰宅を阻む障害物が徐々に消えていく。その一方で、流れる音声からは彼らの心情が次々と露わにされていく。画面では、ときに彼らの手元が狂い、バリケードだけでなく故郷の桜や家が消えてしまい、笑いを生む。その笑いとは裏腹に「ぜんぶ更地にしてほしい」「もう故郷には帰りたくない」といった、メディアでは取りあげられない隠された本心から出る言葉が記録されている。非現実的な仮想遊戯を共におこなうことで、普段、彼らが語りづらい現実に対する深層心理が表出してくるとともに、高齢化に伴う地方の経済衰退の問題や、除染作業と保証をめぐる問題など、彼らが直面する多様な困難とそれに伴う課題が避難民自身の口から自然と語られていく。