The present crisis over Iran's nuclear programme and the plans announced by various governments to re-launch nuclear energy programmes, shows that the timing of this project could not be better.Colin Archer, General Secretary, International Peace Bureau (IPB) — Nobel Peace Price Laureate 1910
In-Security: The Nuclear Dilemma
Not a day goes by without our hearing the word nuclear being associated with energy or defense. Partisans and critics affront each other, analyzing the past and presenting future scenarios. Whilst other positive applications of nuclear science should not be ignored, it is difficult to develop an unbiased opinion. This exhibit helps us unravel the nuclear dilemma: the risks we take in the name of progress and human endeavor.
It tells of a scientific journey from the discovery of radioactivity and the developments that followed in the fields of matter, space, energy, health and armament: including emblematic images and pioneers that have transformed the way we live.
The use of nuclear weapons in conflict and accidents involving nuclear installations have left indelible scars on our world. Photography allows us to comprehend both immediate and lasting truth and consequences of these events: a subjective insight that deepens our sense of insecurity.
The photography also evokes a principal of precaution. Do countries which have chosen nuclear power fully understand the short and long term risks? On the other hand military expenditure has never been so high and those wishing to obtain nuclear weapons is increasing.
Important ideas and relevant questions find their connection through the media and organizations that are presently working toward a more stable world.
© Guillaume HerbautSumiteru Taniguchi was pedalling his bicycle down the street when at 11:02 a.m. 9 August 1945 the atomic bomb code named Fat Man exploded over Nagasaki. He was only sixteen years old at the time he already had a job as a postman. "When I looked up, some small children who had been playing nearby had been blown away like dust."
© Guillaume HerbautThe injuries by the atomic bomb resulted from the combined effect of blast wind, heat rays and radiation, and surfaced in an extremely complex pattern of symptoms. According to the Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, 74,884 people died immediately whilst a further 74,999 people were injured by the explosion. This does not take into account those people who have died through radiation poisoning since 1945.
