Nakanojo, Agatsuma District, Gunma 377-054, Japan
available on-site, plastic sheet, tape, HD-video (7:52min).
How do hazard maps, tools
for defining and governing risk, inscribe themselves into the physical world
they depict as well as the consciousness of the people inhabiting it?
castings of the territories they depict, traces of their casting molds can be
deduced, which hint at deliberate design decisions and embedded power
relations, emphasizing or precluding certain aspects. Directly consulting the
mapped terrain may then reveal otherwise uncharted hazards at the intersection
of local livelihoods and the global chains of extraction, production and
distribution.
The Sawatari
Onsen Community Center is located on the
premises of Sawatari Shrine. Besides community activities, it is used
as an assembly point in case of
emergency.
Due
to its location on a steep slope, leading to a narrow river valley, the village
of Sawatari Onsen has a history of weather-related calamities, of which the
most devastating was probably the 1935 flood and mudflow, caused by typhoon-induced torrential rains.
The
installation attempts to grasp different, partially conflicting perspectives on
and sensitivities towards these location-specific risks. Historical damage maps
of the flood of 1935 are juxtaposed with hazard maps of the area, assembled by
different stakeholders, the municipality and insurance companies.
An
elaborate map compiled by the locals in a series of workshops that were held in
the same location, gathers detailed information on site-specific hazards, based
on their and their ancestor’s experiences.