Student Question
In Romano Hanni's "It is Bitter to Leave Your Home", what is the symbolism of printing quotes on paper towels to represent disaster in visual culture?
Quick answer:
In Romano Hänni's work, printing quotes on paper towels symbolizes the fragility and disposability of human life in the context of man-made disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Paper towels, typically used for cleaning, emphasize the futile attempts to restore normalcy without addressing underlying issues. This choice of medium highlights the precarious nature of life and the superficial responses to such catastrophic events in visual culture.
Artist Romano Hänni's book It is Bitter to Leave Your Home is about the tragedy that occurs from man-made disasters. While one could categorize the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi incidents as natural disasters—especially the latter which was caused by a tsunami—the lethal element of these events was from unnatural creations or systems, such as nuclear reactors.
The reason why Romano Hänni decided to use paper towels as his medium, or canvas, is it represents what is disposable. A paper towel is fragile in nature just like the precariousness of human life. Additionally, a paper towel was invented as a cleaning product. In the case of Fukushima, the government tried to create an illusion of safety by trying to construct an environment of normalcy rather than primarily concentrate on thorough clean-up efforts.
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