Eiko Otake: A Body with Fukushima

Co-presented with Aurora Picture Show, the Mitchell Center welcomed Japanese-born interdisciplinary artist Eiko Otake to Houston as part of our Visiting Artist series. Otake spent four years of her childhood in a prefecture next to Fukushima. After the region was hit with multiple disasters including an earthquake, a tsunami, and the explosions of the Daiichi nuclear plant, Otake visited the irradiated Fukushima five times with a historian and photographer William Johnston.
Experiencing a deep sense of regret for human-made environmental disaster, Oktake danced alone hoping to use her body as a conduit to people who are far away and to future generations. "A Body with Fukushima" presents a powerful embodiment of grief, upset, and remorse while bringing together the present, past and the landscape of post-earthquake Fukushima through and with Otake's body. An artist talk and Q&A followed the performance, which took place on November 7, 2023 at Dudley Hall at the University of Houston. Read a review of the performance from Glass Tire here: glasstire.com/....
Filmed and edited by Jay Clark.