Over the last two decades, large-scale natural catastrophes have devastated industrial regions and coastlines in Turkey, the United States, Haiti, Southeast Asia, and Japan, leaving profound and long-term impacts. These disasters reveal the acute vulnerabilities of urban clusters and coastal zones, exposing not only the fragility of built environments but also the deep-seated inequalities of contemporary social life—economic, gendered, ethnic, and racial. The logic of neoliberal development amplifies these crises, with collapsed infrastructures spotlighting the fragility of social organization. Paradoxically, while catastrophes seem to offer a “clean slate” to imagine better futures, they often fuel neoliberal ambitions, driving cycles of demolition and reconstruction. In this context, disasters become opportunities for economic and political exploitation, with collapse itself turned into a speculative commodity.
“Uniform Cut” emerged from my research into catastrophes, developed during residencies at 3331 Arts Chiyoda (2015) and Tokyo Arts and Space (2017). As part of this inquiry, I traveled to Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, to study the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged its coastal communities. This work invites viewers to reflect on the complex interplay between nature and the built environment, urging them to rethink the possibilities for more equitable and sustainable futures amidst the ruins of the present.
2015-17
Installation, C-prints, Multichannel Video
Versions of this project were presented at:
3331 Arts Chiyoda, 2nd Floor Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, 2015
Sinking Cities at PC4, Yonkers, New York, 2016
Japan: Water at Groundwork Gallery, Norfolk, UK, 2021
Picturing the Invisible at Heong Gallery, Downing College, Cambridge, 2023
