The powerful photography exhibit, Kizuna 7: Past the Devastation and Toward the Future will be on display May 5-26, 2018 in the 3rd Floor Exhibit Gallery of the Harold Washington Library Center. Kizuna, the Japanese word for “bonds” or “connections” between people, is a singularly appropriate word to describe these images.
Twenty-seven panels of photographs and text are the result of interviews with individuals directly affected by events in Japan’s Tohoku region: an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Alan Labb, photographer, professor and curator of this exhibition, was instrumental in documenting relief efforts and services in the wake of the disaster. These photographs were taken during his travels to the affected areas in the summer and fall of 2017. Labb's works attempt to replace a common collective consciousness of disaster and destruction with representations of reconstruction, innovation and progression. This exhibition is sponsored by several Japanese organizations, including the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago and Chicago-Osaka Sister Cities.
Alan Labb will present an interactive lecture and slideshow of photographs on Thursday, May 17, 2018 at 6 p.m.
