ACOUSTIC FUKUSHIMA

MEDIATING RADIATION, A SURVEY OF THE INVISIBLE IN FUKUSHIMA, 2013

The Studio investigated the radiation impacts in the Fukushima landscape after the explosion of the Daichi nuclear plant in 2011. One of the many characteristics of radiation contamination is its invisibility. Landscapes often seem intact and nature often thrives, and the landscape is perceived as innocuous by the human senses. This often translates into individuals and communities venturing back to visit, and even returning to live in the contaminated zones, as is the case in Chernobyl and the Fukushima prefecture, albeit knowledge of the danger of radiation. Geared with a Geiger counter, radiation is mediated and the landscape is perceived and understood very differently. Radiation is also peculiar due to the fact that it is irradiated by a source. Some materials hold on to radiation longer than others, giving great difference in levels from one step to the other, and unfolding unevenly in the landscape. Our concern was mediating this fluctuating phenomenon in the public space. To such end, we constructed a device composed of a Geiger counter and three directional speakers. The radiation readings are transformed into acoustic oscillations emitted live, using pitch, duration and volume to represent radiation levels, their danger/impact scale and distance to the main source. The “beacon” was placed in irradiated landscapes close to the nuclear plant, and tested during day and night conditions, both to record its performance and to survey the impact and perception by the community.