“Catastrophe and the Power of Art” Work #3: Hirakawa Kota Black color timer
2018.11.14 [Wed]
Hirakawa Kota
Born 1987 in Kochi Prefecture, and currently based in Saitama Prefecture.
Black color timer
Born 1987 in Kochi Prefecture, and currently based in Saitama Prefecture.
Black color timer
Portraits of workers employed on-site after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident are depicted in black on 108 radio-controlled clocks. The use of the radio-controlled clocks is derived from the fact that the radio wave transmission station for the Kanto area is located in the village of Kawauchi in Futaba-gun, Fukushima Prefecture. The title is a reference to the so-called “Color Timers” that show the energy time limit for heroes like Ultraman from the popular “Ultra Series” TV shows in the 1960s. The simultaneous clicking sounds of the 108 second hands seem like heartbeats, which verify that the workers are alive, as well as a countdown to a time limit (i.e., death).
Black color timer
2016-2017
Acrylic, glass primer and oil on radio-controlled clock
Installation view: “Catastrophe and the Power of Art,” Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2018
Photo: Kioku Keizo
