The ‘Time Travel to Nagaland, 1979’ photo exhibition featuring Japanese photographer Yuzo Morita has been extended till September 25 following an overwhelming public response.
DIMAPUR — The photo exhibition ‘Time Travel to Nagaland, 1979,’ featuring the work of Japanese ethnographic photographer, travel writer and ethnologist Yuzo Morita, has been extended until September 25 in view of the overwhelming public response.
The exhibition offered a glimpse of Nagaland nearly five decades ago through Morita’s photographs documenting its people, traditions and everyday life, according to a DIPR report.
The previously scheduled closing ceremony was held on Saturday at the Directorate of Art and Culture, Bayavü Hill, Kohima.
Addressing the programme, Project Director of Japan’s National Museum of Ethnology, and ethnomusicologist Emi Okada said many visitors had been delighted to recognise familiar faces in the photographs and recall life in Nagaland nearly half a century ago.
She said she was particularly pleased to see young visitors, noting that the exhibition provided them an opportunity to discover the state’s rich traditional culture and everyday life.
Okada also emphasised the importance of passing culture to the next generation. As an ethnomusicologist studying living and intangible culture, particularly music and singing traditions, she said songs could be recorded and documented, but the knowledge and social meanings embedded in them could not be preserved through documentation alone.
Also read: Nagaland, 1979: A Japanese photographer’s time capsule
Such knowledge, she said, is passed from person to person through the experience of singing together.
She expressed hope that Nagaland’s singing culture would remain part of everyday life and continue to flourish across generations.
Sharing a message from Morita, Okada said the photographer hoped the exhibition would encourage people to look back at the past, reflect on changes over the years and think about a future in which the people of Nagaland could live in peace and happiness.
The exhibition is part of a joint project between the Nagaland State Museum and Japan’s National Museum of Ethnology, which began about a year and a half ago.
The project has documented Naga collections held by the National Museum of Ethnology, developed a database and resulted in the present exhibition.
Okada said Morita was pleased to learn that many people, particularly young visitors, had attended the exhibition. She added that the next phase of the project would be a major exhibition on the Naga peoples at the National Museum of Ethnology in Japan in about two years.
Project Member and Archaeologist Hitoshi Endo expressed gratitude to everyone involved in the programme, while Director of Art & Culture Adela Moa delivered the vote of thanks.
The photo exhibition will now remain open to the public until September 25.