shashasha

Once known as the largest industrial site in East Germany, it became more famous for being the most polluted city in Germany. Since the reunification of Germany the industrial sites have all been locked down, yet many buildings and streets remain. The streets have retained their names that refer largely to a bygone era and its now invalid ideology.

Although the scenes that I recorded were devoid of any actual human activity, they were not merely empty spaces. They have become “historical places” because they are filled with the collective memory of countless human activities. Even these unused streets have names. This is very strange from my Japanese perspective, because street names are only used for major boulevards in Japanese cities but never in suburban or industrial areas. Names are signs, both physically and referentially.

The “places” that I have documented are fragments of a great referent system of signs that refer the viewer to the sum of human beliefs, endeavors and actions that make up the historical dimension of Bitterfield. The images I made, are recordings of the traces of all theses once so important activities. The era has passed but its imprint ion the land has not. All things that come into existence are temporary, yet nothing passes without leaving an indelible trace. It is these “leftovers” that fascinate me, for they continue to have an effect on the present and on the future.’

• Afterword The Bitter Fate of Bitterfield.