Fallout

“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. l remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now l am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.” I. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), American physicist, known as the “Father of the Atomic Bomb“, recalling the witnessing of the “Trinity” nuclear testing, which preceded the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. After the defeat of Japan in WWII, immediately after the first utilization of a nuclear weapon for military purposes, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United Nations mandated the Marshall Islands (an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean) to the jurisdiction of the United States of America, resulting in the usage of the respective islands for nuclear research, Local residents were originally only temporarily relocated, later resulting in permanent relocation after failed re-habitation due to heavy radiation, Throughout the years of testing, many explosions were uncontrolled which directly affected the health and lives of thousands of people, reaching tens of kilometers from the location of the test site, The legal processes that ensued for the reparations for damages inflicted are ongoing to this day, regardless of the fact that many of the islands’ original residents are no longer living. We are living in an era of endless connectivity between people and places as the consequence of developed informational technology and communication. Globalization has become a concept at the center of dialogue, debate and the concept that is most often exploited It serves as a solution against the gusts of old and new personal interests, that only lead to further intolerance, seen in all levels of society. This exhibition by Iva Kuzmanović uses scenes of atomic and hydrogen bomb explosions as the main motif. Taken from video and photo documentation filmed during nuclear testing, carried out by the United States of America, on the Marshall Islands in the Pacific during the 1940s and 1950s. To view the full exhibition in 360 degrees, please visit the following link: Exhibition Fallout in 360 degrees