When Time Stopped - George Nobechi
George Nobechi
2020
Archival pigment print on cotton paper
27.9 x 43.1 cm
11 x 17"
Ed. 20 + 2 AP
*prices in Mexican currency
Back in March when the pandemic was still in its early days I became sick with pneumonia. As a result I found myself resting at home for an extended period of time. Because I had already made a series of photographs looking out of windows, Here. Still. In the past I was not motivated to explore that aspect further in my work. Instead, I slowly recovered my strength while working on a charity lecture series and teaching online.
When I was healed I was still very cautious about venturing out of my home. On the few occasions that I did go out, I chose places where there were not many people.
Across the bay from Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture in Eastern Japan is a mountain called Nokogiriyama (The “Saw” Mountain). This mountain is famous for its stone, which was used in building construction once upon a time during the Edo Period. Also at this mountain is a Zen Buddhist temple called Nihon-ji (Japan Temple). The temple itself is 1,300 years old. There is a Yakushi Buddha (healing of illness Buddha) carved out of the stone face of the mountain, dating back to 1780.
The quarry at this mountain was active until around the time of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 when several stone workers were killed by falling rock. This earthquake devastated the Tokyo region, with estimates as high as 150,000 deaths. Time stopped and the quarry closed.
Japan and Mexico share a common fate in that we both live always with the possibility that something outside our control will make time stop. Now, due to the pandemic, the whole world is experiencing what happens when something outside of our control pauses life as we know it.
In June of 2020 I visited Nokogiriyama and as I climbed the mountain towards the former quarry, I found, through the trees, an angle to view upon the healing Buddha’s face. Under the stormy skies I paused to think about what happens when time stops for humanity and nature returns to take control, and this became the subject for my contribution to this project.
Tokyo, 2020
George Nobechi
