How can you create an exhibition about the terrifying without it becoming an unbearable experience for the audience? This has probably been a central question for the Nobel Peace Center when they had to announce this year’s peace prize. It connects to one of the worst disasters in world history, namely the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. This year’s winner is Nihon Hidankyō, a Japanese grassroots movement made up of survivors from the two cities. The organization fights to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again. Arouses my interest From the first moment the exhibition grabs hold of me. It opens with the iconic photograph of the explosion over Hiroshima taken from the air by American observation planes. STRONG START: A refrain in the exhibition is about the impossibility of actually depicting this disaster. The first statement that meets us is linked to the photograph of the nuclear explosion as a mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. With the headline “It doesn’t capture the humanitarian disaster”, the exhibition opens strongly with a quote from one of the survivors and the iconic image. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center The picture is juxtaposed with a statement from one of the survivors, who claims that the picture hides the real consequences of the bombing: Already here I have a rather large lump in my throat, which certainly won’t get any smaller as I move on to a collage created by the French exhibition photographer Antoine d’Agata. Here he has stitched together new and old images with heartbreaking remains of burnt corpses, destroyed objects and bombed out cityscapes. In short, a reality completely in ruins. In the narrow image frieze, he creates a color-wise rhythmic variation between bleached greenish images, grainy black-and-white photographs and infrared video film stills. PLAY OF COLORS: The beautiful play of colors between the various photographs does not come across in this photograph, but in the collage itself the photographer manages to create an aesthetic whole out of horrific details. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center Focus on people Antoine d’Agata’s sense of form and eye for aesthetics can also be seen in his portrait photographs of a selection of survivors. Here, the old people are lined up against an almost crimson background. But he always makes sure that there is some variation in the color strength, the wear and the details in the wall behind. It gives life to the repetitive series, and a variety that emphasizes the individual differences, and helps us remember that it is about the fate of individuals. I stand for a long time pondering these human destinies. How are they today? (SVEIP) Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center The variation in the background not only creates an aesthetically varied expression in the portrait series, but also reminds us of the individual destinies we face. What kind of life does one create after being hit by an atomic bomb? Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center One could well imagine that these people were filled with bitterness and hatred, instead they have worked tirelessly for a better future where nuclear weapons must never be used again. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center The exhibition approaches the story of the atomic bomb from various angles, including through a fascinating manga-animated film that depicts very strongly the dramatic day when the bombs fell. For example, the warnings where the ants sense that something is brewing and move into the houses. The very finest thing in the exhibition is a sculptural landscape consisting of a thousand small angular elements shaped in cedar wood from Hiroshima’s forests. These were designed by the renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, and made from trees that were planted as an expression of hope for the future after the bombing. The beautiful small wooden elements form a physical forest of memories in the exhibition. I like the sculptural landscape that symbolizes the memories of those who survived the disaster. With the traditional Japanese joining technique kigumi, the famous architect Kengo Kuma means to honor resilience and hope. (SVEIP) Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center In each of the thousand wooden angles is engraved gender, age and a distance representing the 1,000 individuals who in the exhibition tell their story of how they survived the disaster. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center The beautiful small wooden elements become physical memories in the exhibition. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center We can listen to the different stories from a muted loudspeaker, or read them in two bound books that are available in the exhibition. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center Strong ending It all ends as strongly as it begins, with a screen showing test explosions that are taking place and have taken place around the world. Here we will have to take in the scope of that problem and the threat that nuclear weapons still represent. The title of the exhibition is “A message to humanity”, and the message is precisely this: Nuclear weapons must never be used again! THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE: The world map that appears on a screen on the wall shows where test explosions are taking place and have taken place, reminding us of how big the problem and the threat still are. And perhaps even more in the tense situation we are in today. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center Although this year’s peace prize exhibition has an exceptionally dark and dramatic backdrop, the exhibition is quite small and quiet. That does not make the experience any less powerful. On the contrary, I would almost say. In previous years, the presentation has often suffered from an overly large and overwhelming amount of information. And to make up for far too much text, powerful typographic effects and large fonts have been used to get the message across. TIMELINE: This is perhaps set in a slightly small font, but otherwise there is very good readability in the exhibition. The amount of text is not greater than people can bear to read what is written. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center This year, the Peace Center has managed to make clear choices both in terms of content and form. They have given the exhibition a restrained and scaled-down feel. Throughout, the typography is very well resolved: All text is divided into small readable units, and it is easy to navigate through the information presented. This year’s exhibition highlights its strong history and its important hope in a low-key and insistent way. This has become an exemplary exhibition of its kind. Watch Mona Pahle Bjerke review the Peace Prize Exhibition in Nyhetsmorgen: news reviews Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center Title: Peace Prize Exhibition 2024: “A Message to Humanity” Artists: Antoine d’Agata and Kengo Kuma Curators: Asle Olsen and André Larsen Avelin Designer and video: Alejandra Méndez Project manager: Claire McAree Exhibition manager: Henrik Treimo Where: Nobels Fredssenter, Oslo Estimated time: 30 to 60 minutes When: 12 December 2024 to November 2025 Published 11.12.2024, at 15.11
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The Peace Prize Exhibition 2024 – “A Message to Humanity” – Reviews and recommendations
