Rinko Kawauchi also came up in the reviews today. When I was doing an artist residency in Tokyo, 2018 part of my plan was research and visiting 2 photography museums, both of which had been closed on my only other visit to Japan as a photographer. The Shoji Ueda museum of photography in Tottori and The Tokyo Photographic art museum in Ebisu. It was here I came across Rinko. An exhibition and a book. A photograph of a stairway that seems to lead to heaven. The light being the focus, not the children, whose heads and bodies are mostly cut off. The cover of the book. It was in Kanji, so I couldn't read the text or remember the artist's name once I got home, but I showed my residency co-ordinator and she said this artist was quite famous. So today I am remembering my time living in Tokyo as a photographer. It was just so wonderful. Productive. I worked so hard. Every day was a shoot, museums or editing in my studio. I produced 7 series of work, 2 conceived there. One of this series was a 50 page book, inspired by Rinko's 'Utatane' called 'Pretty Vacant'. I love how the book is ordered, juxtaposed colours, light or patterns. I'd never done stills before, but making my own book was the calmest and most beautiful experience I'd ever had in making my work so far.
heres's my copy with a very sun bleached copy of Yoko Ono's 'Grapefruit' These things in my little warehouse studio apartment make me happy and inspire me as I can always revisit them by just picking them up. I will never put my books or art away to protect it from the harsh eastern sun streaming into the entire apartment through the warehouse windows. I've actually taken the curtains up. Because I love both the sun & art in my daily life. Life is for living.
