As an organisation of physicians, medical students and other health professionals dedicated to preventing war and above all, the almost unimaginable consequence of a nuclear war, we believe this exhibition has enormous potential to raise public awareness.John Loretz, Program Director, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) — Nobel Peace Price Laureate 1985
The exhibition
Section 1: A scientific journey
One hundred years ago, a group of scientists unknowingly ushered in the Atomic Age. Driven by curiosity, these men and women explored the nature and functioning of atoms.
This short film will allow you to see and hopefully understand how their research has changed our understanding of the building blocks of matter; and how their discoveries prepared the way for development of new methods and tools, both beneficial and destructive.
A physics graduate, Hervé Colombani (41 years old) has produced over 30 scientific films — 9 on Nano-science and Nano-technology for the French National Scientific Research Institute (CNRS); 21 short educational films for "La Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie", Paris / CNRS. Hervé has also produced many ethnographic documentary films including Maximom on Maya-catholicism, a the Syncretic cult in Guatemala as well as "Nouvelle terre promise" (New Promised Land), about a religious community in the Colombian Amazon.
Section 2: Truth & consequences
When photographers are not looking to capture a moment of truth from events that pass before their eyes, they explore the remnants of time. Deformed bodies and objects; disfigured landscapes, are the consequences that empower the photographer to construct a visual but also factual document, in which personal views often accompany eye witness accounts. They help our necessity for memory, but as with Hiroshima, Nagasaki or Chernobyl, their work provides a strong message for future generations.
© Gerd LudwigA Geiger counter registers toxic levels of radiation while children play along the Techa River, ignoring the high degree of contamination here from careless dumping and major accidents in a nearby weapons plutonium plant.
© Gerd LudwigTesting the water in the Techa River for radiation levels. The region is contaminated as a result of careless dumping and major accidents in a nearby weapons plutonium plant during the 1950's and 1960's.
Section 3: Precautions
Today's world with its frantic scientific and technological advances, presents humanity with more possibilities; adding more risks and consequently new responsibilities. Taking necessary precautions is fundamental especially when decisions concern us all. But what does it mean to take precaution in the Nuclear Age, knowing that a tiny reaction may spark a chain of events that could change the course of history? Can we risk having another nuclear accident like Chernobyl? Can we remain indifferent to certain countries whose excessive armament threatens the rest of the world?
© Jürgen NefzgerPenly Nuclear Power Plant, is situated in the French Seine-Maritime Department on the English Channel. It consists of two pressurized water reactors with a total output of 2764 MWe. Water from the English Channel is used for cooling. The plant employs about 670 people and is operated by the French company Électricité de France (EDF). On average 16% of the world's electricity supply comes from nuclear power. Of the 441 commercial nuclear power stations around the world, 59 are in France.
© Paul ShambroomWith a yield of one megaton, these are currently the most powerful weapons in the U.S. arsenal.
Section 4: Connections
The emotional impact of photography stirs up many questions. When, as shown here, it is the result of personal commitment and artistic interpretation, its meaning cuts across the surplus of information provided daily by the media on nuclear issues — whether for energy or military purposes and the collusion of the two.
The images exhibited can not be disassociated from the press and the internet nor from advances in science or the work of numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations who strive for a more sustainable world.
It is the same stages in the nuclear fuel cycle that prepare the radioactive substances used in building an atomic bomb or for the production of electricity. The only difference between them is the concentration of the various isotopes used in the fuel. Each year a typical 1000 megawatt (MW) commercial power reactor will produce 300 to 500 pounds of plutonium, enough to build between 25 - 40 Nagasaki-sized atomic bombs. The ambiguity of nuclear power lies in knowing whether a country is using its reactors for energy purposes or for weapons production. Thus is the nuclear dilemma.
