honorable mention
Sebastian Holzknecht austria
title
“Green elephant”
The helplessness of the government can be recognized by the fact that, even seven years after the nuclear fallout, the traces are still visible in the city with a population of 280,000 people.
The green bags, filled with radioactive soil have not only become a visual component of the cityscape but also an integral part of the inhabitants’ daily lives. On the one hand, they suggest safety because the danger is packaged, on the other hand, they serve as a metaphor for the creation of an unsolvable problem.
Even if the bags will not be there one day – maybe they will be put “out of sight” because of the Olympic summer games in 2020 - there will always be a “green elephant” in the gardens of Fukushima.
In 2015 he completed his master studies in visual sciences at the Danube University in Krems. Since 2011 Sebastian Holzknecht began teaching at the department for new media and fashion design and at the College for Business Studies in Innsbruck.
His photographic focus is on portrait, reportage and documentary photography.
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entry description
Fukushima City is located 65 km away from the “Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant”, which is known for the nuclear meltdown and the release of radioactive materials caused by the catastrophic tsunami that struck on 11 March 2011.The helplessness of the government can be recognized by the fact that, even seven years after the nuclear fallout, the traces are still visible in the city with a population of 280,000 people.
The green bags, filled with radioactive soil have not only become a visual component of the cityscape but also an integral part of the inhabitants’ daily lives. On the one hand, they suggest safety because the danger is packaged, on the other hand, they serve as a metaphor for the creation of an unsolvable problem.
Even if the bags will not be there one day – maybe they will be put “out of sight” because of the Olympic summer games in 2020 - there will always be a “green elephant” in the gardens of Fukushima.
about the photographer
The contemporary Austrian photographer Sebastian Holzknecht was born in 1983 in Tyrol. After graduating from high school, Sebastian went on to study business education and political sciences at the University of Innsbruck. In 2010 he graduated in ‘communication and media design’ at Innsbruck’s College for Business Studies, after which his training as a photographer commenced. In 2012 he completed his training as a master of photography in Innsbruck, Tyrol.In 2015 he completed his master studies in visual sciences at the Danube University in Krems. Since 2011 Sebastian Holzknecht began teaching at the department for new media and fashion design and at the College for Business Studies in Innsbruck.
His photographic focus is on portrait, reportage and documentary photography.
back to gallery
