Artworks by survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb in Hiroshima are to go on show outside Japan for the first time. The powerful and often disturbing paintings will feature in an exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery next month.
The pictures depict horrific scenes from 6 August 1945, when the first atomic bomb was dropped from a US aircraft during World War Two. The images were created after a request by Japanese broadcaster NHK in the 1970s and later toured the country.
Twelve paintings and drawings by the so-called 'hibakusha', which translates as bomb-exposed people, will be included in The Sensory War 1914-2014 exhibition in Manchester.
They have been selected from more than 2,000 that were sent to NHK in 1974 and which were subsequently exhibited at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and around the country.
Between 60,000 and 80,000 people were killed instantly when the bomb was dropped in 1945. Many more died of the long-term effects of radiation sickness and the final death toll was calculated at 135,000.
The Sensory War exhibition explores "how artists have communicated the impact of war on the body, mind, environment and human senses" since World War One, according to the gallery.
The exhibition runs from 11 October to 22 February 2015.
