THAT IS ENOUGH, NAMAZU! (2011)
Created in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, That Is Enough, Namazu reflects on the fragile balance between modern technological civilisation and the uncontrollable forces of nature. In the weeks following the disaster, global communication networks brought the tragedy into homes around the world, highlighting both the interconnectedness of contemporary culture and the profound loss carried by each individual life.
The work draws on Japanese earthquake folklore, in which seismic events were believed to be caused by Namazu, a giant catfish living beneath the earth whose movements shook the ground. After the devastating Ansei earthquakes of 1855, artists in Edo (present-day Tokyo) began producing namazu-e woodblock prints depicting the catfish being punished for the destruction it caused.
Rather than recreating this imagery directly, the illustration introduces a cross-cultural encounter. The destructive catfish is restrained by a Rusałka, a female spirit from Slavic folklore associated with lakes and rivers. Both seductive and dangerous, she embodies the untamed forces of water and nature, imagined here as powerful enough to halt the earthquake demon.
That Is Enough, Namazu! Digital illustration; self-published limited edition giclée print, 2011
Poster for the Catastrophe in Japan – Message to the World symposium, Warsaw, 2012
Published in Tsunami: Nature and Culture, Richard Hamblyn, Reaktion Books, London, 2014
Banner for the Catastrophe in Japan – Message to the World symposium, Warsaw, 2012
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