For this “Bad dreams?” project, Carlos Ayesta and Guillaume Bression went one more time to Fukushima prefecture contaminated areas (Namie, Odaka, Date, Iitate, Kawamata) and took their pictures with Fukushima residents. This is why we would like to thank Nakajima Takashi, Yoshinari Hirohagu, Tanji Kohdai, Shima Akemi, Ooyama Yoshihiko, Sato Kenji, Handa Shinji and Tsugyo Takahashi who accepted to pose in our photographies.

For our reports, we went several times to Fukushima prefecture following March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. There we travelled across the region and had the opportunity to meet many residents and activists. those trips and encounters were full of strong emotions for us especially at the beginning of the crisis but also though out our different projects. Our intimate and factual knowledge of the region and its inhabitants nourish this photographic word in Fukushima. And even if the image aesthetic matters to us, we primarily tried to convey Fukushima’s reality and our feelings towards this reality.

© Carlos Ayesta – Guillaume Bression

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Photograph taken in the prohibited area, 5 km. from the Fukushima plant on the beach of the former Ukedo port, city of Namie. Fishing is still banned throughout Fukushima Prefecture because of the radioactive contamination of fish.

The forest of Kawamata, Japan, located 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in the axis of contamination. Affected by contamination in a “leopard spot” formation, some very remote areas are more contaminated than others located closer to the plant.

A storage area for contaminated soil in Naraha, Japan. The huge bags are spread everywhere in Fukushima prefecture and have become an obsession for the residents.

The evacuated town of Iitate, Japan. The packed tree is a cherry blossom, which is the symbol of ephemeral beauty in Japan. (It remains in bloom for a few weeks each year.) During World War II, the cherry-blossom tree was the symbol used to motivate the Japanese people.

A decontaminated playground in Date, Japan. Radioactivity level is relatively low (0.3 mSv/h), but still no children play there.