Florian Ruiz is a French based photographer living and working in Tokyo, Japan. He strives to capture the in-between, energy at the margin, the borderlines of life and permanence. Using multiple pinhole exposures, Florian is able to capture diverse realties; splitting time and then later stitching it back together. His series titled “Fukushima, Invisible Pain”, documents the terrorizing after effects of nuclear radiation. Together with the presence of mind and the length of exposure; Florian is able to instill a feeling of devastation while at the same time creating something truly astonishing.
Fukushima, Invisible Pain
Within the natural environment and in the areas surrounding cities across Fukushima prefecture, I have captured the invisible pain of radiation. With an ear to the rhythm of the seasons as in traditional Japanese engravings and inspired by their refined, uncluttered style, I hoped to capture the fleeting moments, the movements of climatic phenomena, and the ever-shifting perceptions of nature, where radiation accumulates the most.
I used a pinhole camera with long exposure times to create a record of the presence of radioactive danger. A dosimeter measured the level of radiation in milliSieverts (μSv) received during each exposure. Each photo is an accumulation of visual fragments taken in the same location but from different angles, always accompanied by the radiation level to which my film was exposed. The result is a combination of all those elements.
A process of staggered superimpression creates a vibration, a departure from the reality of the subject that reveals the presence of radiation in the image. The process reinvents and twists the very landscape, leading to a sort of vertigo or malaise linked to the quivering of the invisible.
My ambition with this project was to find a balance and organization in a chaotic world, while emphasizing the intransience of beauty. I also sought to test the bounds of photography by challenging its ability to render an image of what is invisible to the eye by means of time and distortion.
For more information on Florian Ruiz and to see more of his work please visit his website.