Eva & Franco Mattes

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Don’t Follow the Wind (2015-)

What can art do in an ongoing catastrophe, when destruction and contamination have made living impossible? Don’t Follow the Wind is an ongoing exhibition taking place in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone, Japan – an evacuated, radioactive area established in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster.

Twelve participating Japanese and international artists installed their works in the zone at various sites lent by former residents. As the Fukushima Exclusion Zone remains inaccessible to the public, the exhibition will be ongoing but largely invisible – a condition akin to radiation itself – only to be viewed in the future, if and when it becomes safe once again for humans to return.

There is no clear timeline for public access to the sites, perhaps 3 years, 10 years or even decades – indeterminate periods of time that could stretch beyond our lifetime into successive generations. The exhibition explores our relationship with art, the environment and time itself.

Participating Artists: Ai Weiwei, Miyanaga Aiko, Chim↑Pom, Grand Guignol Mirai, Nikolaus Hirsch and Jorge Otero-Pailos, Takeuchi Kota, Eva & Franco Mattes, Koizumi Meiro, Takekawa Nobuaki, Ahmet Ögüt, Trevor Paglen, Taryn Simon.

Curators: Kenji Kobuta, Eva & Franco Mattes, Jason Waite.

Initiator: Chim↑Pom

 

 

Official website

http://dontfollowthewind.info

 

 

Publications

“Fukushima Texture Pack”, 2023 (Lenz)
“Don’t Follow the Wind”, 2021 (Sternberg Press, Amazon)
“Don’t Follow the Wind: 展覧会公式カタログ”, 2015 – Japanese (Amazon)

 

 

Documentary

The Creators Project, Don’t Follow the Wind: Radioactive Art in Fukushima (2015)

 

 

Articles

Art in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone, ArtReview Asia (2022)

Don’t Follow the Wind, Frieze Magazine (2015)

Artists install in Fukushima’s radioactive zone, The Art Newspaper (2015)

Fukushima’s radioactive wasteland turns into art gallery, The Guardian (2015)

Ai Weiwei, Trevor Paglen, and Taryn Simon Install Works in Fukushima’s Radioactive Zone, Artnet News (2015)

Don’t Follow the Wind, Art Review (2015)

 

 

Non-Visitor Centers

Ordet, Milano (2023)

Kunsthalle Mainz (2022)

Art Tower Mito, Japan (2022)

Art in General, New York (2019)

Gangwon Biennale (2018)

Yokohama Triennale, Tokyo (2017)

Art in general, New York (2017)

Bildmuseet, Umea (2017)

Biennale of Sydney (2016)

 

 

Scrapbook

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind

Eva & Franco Mattes, Don't Follow The Wind