Black Snow
“where we build our futures”
1946 to 1958, the United States conducted 67 tests in the Marshall Islands. Black Snow is a tale based on the archival footage of these tests and their on-going threats imposed on the lives of the people and the environment of the islands. The native people living further from the Bikini Atoll (the site of the first atomic tests-Operation Crossroads) were not aware of the effect of the radiation at the time of the bombing. They were not informed properly. Some of the people mistook the nuclear fallouts as snow and ate them. The US government advised the people of the islands not to consume the local goods contaminated with radiation, such as coconuts, which were part of their staple diet. Instead, the US government provided processed food, which increased the rate of diabetes, obesity and other health issues on the islands.
About the project
Film
Digital Animation: Young Joo Lee (KR, USA)
Music: Karmina Šilec (SI)
15. 8. 2019, The Drawing Centre, New York
1946 to 1958, the United States conducted 67 tests in the Marshall Islands. Black Snow is a tale based on the archival footage of these tests and their on-going threats imposed on the lives of the people and the environment of the islands. The native people living further from the Bikini Atoll (the site of the first atomic tests-Operation Crossroads) were not aware of the effect of the radiation at the time of the bombing. They were not informed properly. Some of the people mistook the nuclear fallouts as snow and ate them. The US government advised the people of the islands not to consume the local goods contaminated with radiation, such as coconuts, which were part of their staple diet. Instead, the US government provided processed food, which increased the rate of diabetes, obesity and other health issues on the islands.
The concrete dome, called theTomb by the locals is covering the nuclear waste dumped after the series of tests. It is already leaking, though the dome was promised to last for 20,000 years. The rising sea level and the aging concrete cover is a threat not only to the islanders, yet to the entire Pacific Ocean and the world.
Young Joo Lee (b. 1987 Seoul, Korea) is an artist based in Cambridge and Los Angeles. She combines the inspirations from her dreams with personal and political histories to create drawings, sculptures, animation and films. Recent solo exhibitions of Lee’s work have been presented at the Alternative Space Loop- Seoul and Ochi Projects- Los Angeles. Her works were shown at Drawing Center-NYC, Seoul National University Museum of Art-Seoul, Cairo Video Festival, Anthology Film Archive-NYC, Echo Park Film Center-LA, Curitiba Biennial-Brazil (2013) and Kunsthaus Bregenz.
She is a College Fellow in Media Practice at Harvard University since 2018, teaching and researching on immersive storytelling and digital media.
Music:
Performed by: Carmina Slovenica
Conductor: Karmina Šilec
Edward Elgar: The Snow
Urška Pompe: In vitam