Revisiting nuclear history with daguerreotype: Artist talk in Taipei

Arai became interested in photography during his biology studies in Tokyo. While exploring the origins of photographs, he encountered and eventually mastered the daguerreotype, using this early technique to create “micro-monuments,” image-objects that vividly convey the sensation of engaging with events and subjects beyond time and space. In 2010, Arai encountered the hull of the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (Lucky Dragon V), a fishing boat damaged by an American nuclear test in 1954, and its former crew. He has continued to cover nuclear topics since then at locations including Fukushima, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. In addition to his photography, Arai is a filmmaker, writer, and researcher. Arai’s work has been exhibited widely in Japan and internationally, including at Yokohama Museum of Art, Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston) and Purdy Hicks Gallery (London). His awards include the Source-Cord Prize (UK, 2014), the 41st Kimura Ihei Photography Award (Japan, 2016), and the short film category at the Salerno Film Festival (Italy, 2018). His series Exposed in a Hundred Suns was shortlisted for Prix Pictet Storm (2025). His work is in the collections of the Smithsonian, MFA Boston, SFMOMA, MOMAT, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and Musée Guimet, Paris.