An exhibition showcasing the works of a Japanese war photojournalist during Northern Ireland’s period of civil disturbance is set to open in Dublin. Akihiko Okamura first arrived in Ireland towards the tail end of the 1960s and by 1969 he had made it his home. Chronically capturing the North’s conflict through his lens, Okamura generated a remarkable collection, the majority of which has not been seen till this day. “The Memories of Others” exhibition, commencing this coming Thursday, features Okamura’s photographs along with a documentary film and the maiden publication of his work in Ireland. Okamura, once a prisoner of the Vietcong for over a month while documenting the Vietnam war, encompassed everyday life in Ireland amid the Troubles in his snaps until he passed away in 1985. The exhibit will take place at.
The Photo Museum Ireland, situated in the artistic hub of Temple Bar, is hosting an exhibition titled ‘The Memories of Others’ until the 6th of July. This captivating showcase features a diverse range of photographs captured by Akihiko Okamura. His collection offers a vivid insight into Ireland’s tumultuous past, portraying crucial events from circa 1969 through the 1970s.
Notable pieces include an image of a blazing structure in Derry city dated around 1969, an image of a man patiently waiting at an Antrim railway station during the 70s, and a poignant photograph of Derry’s Fountain Street from 1969. His work also commemorates the meticulous efforts channelled into setting up the Twelfth of July celebrations in Derry’s Fountain region in the late 60s. A sombre snapshot from 1969 shows women standing next to the ruins of their homes on Bombay Street, situated in West Belfast.
British soldiers, clad in riot gear and facing protests on the Creggan estate in Derry city, are depicted in a picture from 1970. Okamura also captured a British soldier lugging a door down Bombay Street in West Belfast around 1969, British soldiers leaning against a wall on Divis Street, west Belfast, appeared in a photo from roughly 1969. The presence of the British army is palpably depicted with images of women manoeuvring past army barricades from about 1969, and a woman standing by a British army obstruction on King Street in Belfast, circa 1970.
A particularly intriguing image from 1976 portrays a man nursing a wounded foot while engrossed in Frederick Forsythe’s novel ‘The Dogs of War’ on a Northern Ireland train. The exhibition also features a young band member attending a Twelfth of July parade in Derry around 1969, and children constructing an effigy of Lieut Col Robert Lundy in Derry during the 1970s.
The snowy imprint of footsteps on a railway overbridge in Antrim in the 70s, a portrayal of a family in Heuston station located in Dublin from 1969, and the aftermath of riots in the form of empty milk bottles and rocks in Rossville Flats in Derry city’s Bogside area, circa 1969, further amplify the intensity and historical significance of Okamura’s work.