William Johnston
Eiko has been collaborating with historian and photographer William Johnston since 2014 in creating A Body in Fukushima, a series of photographs, by going to post nuclear disaster Fukushima, Japan. The collaboration was first conceived as a part of her solo project: A Body in Places and was shown in communities where she toured her solos. But soon it became clear to Eiko that the collaboration with Johnston is not about only bringing Fukushima into a dialogue but also a duet between a photographer and dancer/performer.
For that reason, Eiko will bring various form of A Body in Fukushima as part of her Duet Project, especially where their Fukushima work has not been seen.
Eiko and Johnston met in 2005 and, prior to this artistic collaboration, had co-taught courses in Wesleyan University on the atomic bombings and mountaintop removal mining. Eiko visited Fukushima alone in 2011 soon after earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns hit the area. She then invited Johnston to collaborate in their subsequent trips: 2014 winter and summer, 2016 summer, and 2017 summer. In all, the photographs by Johnston capture Eiko’s movements and gestures as well as the evolving landscape over their four visits.
Johnston received his B.A. from Elmira College in Elmira, NY and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, and also studied at Nanzan University and the University of Nagoya in Japan. Since 1988, he has been employed at Wesleyan University, where he is the John E. Andrus Professor of History; he is the author of two monographs and numerous essays. Johnston has practiced photography since he was a high school student, for many years using large-format cameras.
See Wesleyan CFA Virtual Studio for more of Eiko and William’s collaborations.
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