>> "Experimental" Exhibition [ 2010 Photo Exhibition ]
This is an article that appeared in a local newspaper, Abashiri Times, on May 14th, written by Mr. Atsushi Nakada, Irumi's colleague at the museum.
A Photography Exhibition on Aborigines
“The Call of the Living Earth: Photographs of Australian Aborigines by Minoru Hokari” — this is the rather long title of a photography exhibition currently at the Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples.
This is an unusual exhibition for the Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples in that its thematic subject is of the south: Australia and its indigenous peoples. The photographs are the work of Dr. Hokari, a historian who has taken an innovative approach to studying Aboriginal history — the practice of a “radical oral history” that respects, preserves, and prioritizes the narratives told by the Aboriginal people themselves.
While many of the photographs are of simple images, the dry, reddish-brown earth and distinctive Aboriginal features strike those of us accustomed to northern landscapes as fresh and revealing. Accompanying the pictures are excerpts from Dr. Hokari’s book. In pairing the images with the photographer’s own words, the exhibition attempts, in a sense, to retrace the trajectory of his research.
In some ways, this exhibition is an unprecedented, experimental endeavor for the museum. We invite you to visit and see for yourself whether it has been a success. Admission for the photography exhibition is free.
In connection with the exhibition, we have invited an expert to give a talk on May 29 on the theme: “Who Are the Aboriginal Peoples? Indigenous Australians: Their Past and Present.” We hope you will join us.
- Translated by Kyoko Uchida
Friends of Mino and mine are visiting the exhibition from Tokyo as well as Niigata. This is a great news for the museum since most of their visitors have been limited to local residents or tourists. Total 8 copies of Mino's book have been sold there so far.