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Take a walk through hauntingly beautiful photographs of clothing and personal objects left behind by victims of one of the world's most devastating atomic bombings at hiroshima, a Museum of Anthropology exhibition by Japanese artist Ishiuchi Miyako.

Dresses, eyeglasses, false teeth, shoes and children's school uniforms are among the items that Miyako meticulously chose from the 19,000 artifacts housed in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, then began meticulously photographing in 2007.

But the stunning photographs – being exhibited for the first time outside Japan – are not meant to document what happened in the past; rather, Miyako is bringing the objects back to light and into the present.

According to MOA contemporary art curator Karen Duffek, the photographs also provide a more personal perspective on the bombing's unfathomable devastation.

"When you look at these things you begin to realize that she is really focusing on the individuals that were there," she says. "And so it shifts our focus from that broader abstract historical image of Hiroshima to much more specific individuals. You could really call them portraits."

A range of public programming is being offered alongside the exhibition, including artist talks, panel discussions, film screenings, kids activities and more. This weekend, Miyako will join the Arts of Conscience Symposium at Centre A Gallery Saturday, then give a talk with UBC professor John O'Brian, author of Atomic Postcards: Radioactive messages from the Cold War, on Sunday .

Hiroshima is at the Museum of Anthropology until February 12. For more information and a schedule of events, visit moa.ubc.ca.

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