Luke O’Brien Photography

Japan Earthquake & Tsunami 2011

Photographic Fundraising Exhibition – “Rebuilding Lives”

AIM: Fundraising in support of the people of Tohoku, Japan

WHERE: Hobart’s Waterside Pavilion, Mawson Place

WHEN: Monday November 21 ~ Sunday November 27, 2011

THANK YOU: Over $4290.00 was raised during the week of the exhibition

Exhibition Photos (including Opening Night)

Online Exhibition – Selection of Images from the Exhibition (added March 2012)

March 11, 2011

As most people would be aware, a huge Magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck just off the north east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. The earthquake generated a giant tsunami which smashed into the north east coast of Japan and caused massive damage along hundreds of kilometers of coastline.

In July, on our annual visit to Fukushima, which is approximately 250 kms north of Tokyo, and one of the prefectures hardest hit, we travelled to the disaster zone and saw just how much damage the earthquake and tsunami caused in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. Cleaning up and rebuilding is an immense job and through this photographic exhibition we would like to encourage everyone to give anything they can to assist all those people whose lives have been complety turned upside down in Japan.

Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Map

Earthquake & Tsunami: Four Months Later

The aim of the journey was to photograph the affected areas four months after the disaster. Four months in some ways is quite a long period of time, and in some ways it is a very short period of time.

We visited a restaurant called Okame in the ruined main street of Miyako City, Iwate. 4 months earlier the restaurant was under a meter of water, yet had managed to rebuild and reopen, and was offering delicious meals and impeccable Japanese service. It was inspriring to find such a wonderful restaurant, right where the tsunami hit hard, amidst a ruined city centre.

On the other hand, we visited Tarou, a small coastal town in Iwate, where 4 months after the tsunami struck most of the town is simply gone, and efforts there are still basically focused on cleaning up. Rebuilding is still a long way off.

Fundraising and Support

We could see clearly how our visiting the region and buying food, accommodation and petrol was assisting people there take some tentative first steps toward recovery. What was also clear was how much everybody there appreciated our support. Buying petrol from a petrol station which was missing its walls and even the roof of the garage, and surrounded by rubble as far as the eye could see was an experience far removed from the ease by which we go about our lives back home.

The trip inspired us to do all we can back here in Tasmania to assist those in the Tohoku region of Japan.

All funds raised will be donated to the disaster zone in North East Japan. If you are not in Hobart at the time of the Exhibition, donations can be made directly at the Landscapes Gallery on Melville St.

The exhibition will feature photos of the tsunami and earthquake devastation, as well as images which show the beauty of the region.

Thanks

We would like to thank the Australia-Japan Society of Tasmania for their support; and also Hobart City Council as sponsor of the event. Thanks also to the RACT for a write up and picture promoting the event in this months magazine.

Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter using the box on the upper right hand side of this page. I will email updates on the exhibition, including previews of images, and details of the Opening Night event on November 21.