Gareki Paintings

Gareki (瓦礫) is the Japanese term for the debris, and clearing away the gareki caused by the tsunami has been one of our main duties as volunteers in the Tohoku. Literally translated, it means debris or trash, and ultimately we do treat it as such, but I feel it is important to remember where this gareki came from. Especially since most of the debris has been cleared and cleaned away, we're finding less and less debris to work with.

It's sort of an ironic feeling not have gareki to dig and hold in your hands anymore, because holding the scraps of wood/concrete/glass/metal was a constant reminder of what we were doing, and it grounded us in our duties and didn't let us forget who we were doing this for. But these days we have a hard time finding big chunks of debris, unless we put some effort in digging them out of trenches and ravines. So a big part of what we do is supporting the fishermen and clean-up work after bulldozers do their thing in different areas. In a way, the disaster zones have become a very tranquil environment with weeds growing over everything leaving open fields of green alongside beautiful coastlines.

It is indeed a wonderful thing that the debris is almost gone, as one can gauge that as a milestone for Tohoku recovery. But it also gives things a little twist, and people forget that there is still a lot of work to be done. The Tohoku still desperately needs our help. Just because we can't see their needs directly in a tangible way, doesn't mean needs don't exist. Especially since a lot of time is about to pass since the initial disaster in March, a lot of people are reaching their breaking points and need emotional and mental support.

We can't forget about the Tohoku and pretend or assume that everything is A-okay now. We can't assume that for many places around the world that are suffering as well. Let's not forget that this gareki used to be someone's home, someones playground, someones car, someones life savings, someones memories. Generations lived in these houses and many kids were raised within these walls before they were turned into piles of debris. And all in a matter of moments. People's lives also disappeared in a matter of moments.

I created this series called Gareki, and hopefully with more to come, in hopes that these paintings will serve as a visual reminder of what these debris symbolize. I tried to express some of the things and emotions I've felt spending time in Tohoku, and the paint that I actually used in this series is actually paint that I dug up out of the rubble. Little jars of poster color just popped out of a mound of dirt I was carting away one day, and there was no way I could figure out where it came from. And we were told to throw away anything we found. So I felt there would be even deeper meaning if I could create artwork depicting gareki, if I painted with gareki as well.