Eneman III and Enyu I
Named after the 1964 sci-fi short story by J.G. Ballard, the photographs from the series Terminal Beach examine the post-nuclear landscapes, abandoned bunkers, sunken warships, apocalyptic sunsets and decaying infrastructures of Bikini Atoll.
Enyu I from the series Terminal Beach, Julian Charrière. Photo courtesy of the Artist.
About the work
The island is still contaminated with radioactivity, a legacy of its use as a location for American atom bomb testing during the Cold War. Grains of sand from the atoll’s still-radioactive beaches were placed on the negatives while they were being developed, leaving behind abstract, glowing traces.
Like Charrière's 2014 series Polygon, these black and white photographs recall the objective style of the Dusseldorf School while surveying the apotheosis of mid-century atomic-industrial architecture. With their rusting iron rebar and crumbling concrete, now falling like flakes – prey to salt air and, once, unimaginable vibrations – some of these structures are reminiscent of pyramids; odious leftovers of a questionable ideal.
More from Julian Charrière
→ Website