Given the situation described in the caption, I actually like how the toxicity at issue is not immediately intelligible. It parallels the fact that the actual toxicity of the ferns simply cannot be known without further inspection. But it could be interesting to include some sort of unsettling visual clue in the image that suggests there is underlying layer of risk, some way of inviting the viewer to think and look harder at this image to understand how it is conveying toxicity.
Perhaps playing with some sort of trope or cultural symbol associated with invisible risk or with not knowing whether you are currently at risk or not. Something like the Trojan Horse blended with Schrodinger's cat...
I'm not literally suggesting you should paste a "Trojan Cat" somewhere into the image like some kind of "Where's Waldo" game. To be honest, I don't really have a clear suggestion on how to achieve what I am suggesting. But it could be interesting to figure out how to work in something visual that represents/illustrates/hints at the undetectable level of radioactivity of these scrolls.
This image was created by the ethnographer. It is a photo of fern scrolls in the hands of a local farmer. What I find interesting about this photo is it doesn't strike you as toxic at all. The scale of focus is pretty tight. All we can see are a person's midriff and the delicate scrolls they are holding gently in their rough and textured hands. There is almost nothing to give away the location of the photo or its recent history of disaster. I think this plays into the authors point that there is no way to tell whether or not these scrolls are "toxic" by the look of them.
The caption clearly spells out how the place in question is toxic and how people are responding to this toxicity. I would like to read a little bit more about how this has influenced these residents' understandings and orientations towards radioactivity and how it has impacted their relationship to their home. The caption seems to suggest a bit of brazenness but I'd like to know more! I'd also like to find out how the author's own experiences in this place have influenced their take on the dynamics of toxicity.
This visualization shows how people are developing new habits and patterns of behavior in response to a contaminated landscape. Residents are rejecting the official recommendations of local authorities, feeling out for themselves how to cope with living in and near places with uncertain levels of toxicity. The image-text combination seems to suggest a spirit of curiosity, resilience, and playfulness in the face of these challenges.