I have followed Rinko Kawauchi’s work since 2010 when I first came across it online. It is the simplicity of both the image composition and the subject matter that draws me to the work. There is a casual and relaxed feel to the images, but they also evoke a sense of nostalgia within the viewer.
I particularly like the use of the square format. Maybe this relates to my idea of isolation as I feel that squares contain the eye more, and there is not so much room for the gaze to move around (similar to how physical isolation makes you feel contained.)
The colour palette in these images is also simple and cohesive, and I would like to incorporate a similar feel in my own work. I don’t want my folio to become too heavy in mood, as I feel that the topic I am exploring naturally leads itself this this spiral of sadness. I feel that Kawauchi’s work has a good balance of calm and lightness, but also a kind of solemn undertone. Yet, I feel that this could change depending on the mood of the viewer at the time of looking at the work.
I started looking for some inspiration for my own imagery, and I thought that researching Japanese photographers was a good place to start (perhaps subconsciously I am trying to maintain connection to Japan.) One of my favourite Japanese photographers is Kotori Kawashima (川島 小鳥), most notable for his series “Mirai-chan” which captures raw, imperfectly perfect moments in the everyday life of his friend’s daughter. I’ve collected some of my favourite images above.
Kawashima, K 2011, Mirai-chan, nanarokusha, Tokyo.
I should be leaving this country in less than a week. I should be boarding a plane that will take me back to the life that I have had on hold for 9 months. I should be cruising at 38,000 ft back to the weirdo of a human I call my partner.
But if there is one thing I have learned in the past 24 months, it is that nothing ever goes the way you think it will. And I would never have expected a pandemic to keep me from returning to the country where I’ve built my life - Japan.
So instead of packing a suitcase, I am undertaking a new photography project. I hope to use this project as a tool to document this peculiar time in my life, when I am isolated from not only the country that I have been trying for so long to return to, but also the person I’ve been building that life with. I aim to use my photography to express my mental state as time passes, and capture the small details of moments that occur during that time.
