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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| June 14, 2005 |
Future of the Earth through Photography – Kazuma Momoi |
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| A photojournalist from Japan, Kazuma Momoi joined Peace Boat from Sri Lanka to Jordan |
To freelance photojournalist Kazuma Momoi the adage “a picture speaks a thousand words” succinctly captures the purpose and spirit behind his work. In a series of six workshops titled “For the Future of the Earth,” Momoi addressed his concern for environmental issues through his photography. Accompanied by a musical score, Momoi urged participants to reawaken their senses and imagine the stories behind the photographs. He compared this process to Picasso, who depicted the horror of the Spanish Civil in his painting “Crying Lady” so well that upon hearing the title people immediately conjure up the event it depicts. |
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| The essential equipment—camera and camera bag |
Communication and imagination are the cornerstones to Momoi’s work. Without these, an audience is unable to connect to the photographs. “When you look at a photograph, you should be able to feel the emotion of the subject as well as the photographer to make it meaningful,” explained Momoi. Initially, his photography was nurtured by his curiosity to see human nature at its worst under the condition of war. He traveled to areas affected by inter- and intra-state wars, including the 1992-1996 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina; 1994 massacre of Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda; and more recently occupied Iraq. Through his photography Momoi had hoped to find solutions to problems intensified by war, however after 10 years he realized “merely taking pictures of conflict countries doesn’t solve problems” and thus he changed his theme to “capturing the process and cause of war rather than the result.” |
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| Momoi also gave photography tips to the participants |
In this process, Momoi became conscious of the link between environmental damage and war. Competition over limited natural resources has already strained the existing conflicts between groups or countries, with some conflicts resulting in war. With reports from UNEP stating nearly 70% of the planet will face a shortage of water, Momoi warns that future wars will be over natural resources such as water, which is not unlikely considering the war in Iraq was arguably over oil and natural gas. In his first assignment concerning the environment in 1991, Momoi went to Brazil to photograph the mass deforestation of the Amazon jungle in hopes of capturing a message from the virgin forest. After this experience, he realized human beings embrace the concept of world peace essentially for themselves without consideration of the animals, trees, ocean, wind on this planet. As our world becomes more technologically-advanced Momoi fears human beings are becoming less appreciative of the planet. He illustrates this point through his photographs of Galapagos wildlife. Here, seals and birds sit with their eyes closed appreciating the wind in their faces, seeming to listen to the sound of the earth. Momoi’s hope is that humans will be able to stop and catch these moments to appreciate the planet as a living part of their existence. |
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