Category Archives: photograph

Edited Black and White Images

Rain on the Windshield - trace
Wing Diptych 1
Spiderlily on Rainy Horizon
Wing Diptych 2
black and white images of wing dress and wing drawing.
Dragon Dress Diptych
Dragon Dress, prototype.

All derivatives from Dyed Threads series.
From top:
Spider Lily – early sketch, monochrome (2015)
Wing Diptych 1 (2015) The bird was photographed in September 1999, and became the inspiration for the Wing Dress series.
Spider Lily – study, monochrome (2015)
Wing Diptych 2 (2015)
Wing Diptych 3 (2015) The drawing was of an imaginary wing, and preceded the Wing Dress series.
Dragon Dress Diptych (2015)
Dragon Dress Prototype (2015) The dress in the photo was created around 1999-2000 with fabric marker as the first experiment for the Dyed Threads series.

Sunken Feathers

Photograph of clouds shot from underwater layered on feather drawing dyed on silk.
Drawn feathers, stitched, and sparkles from the summer sea.
Sea, swim, sparkles and feathers hidden underwater.
Morning shore, first light, and a feather lying on sand.

Various images of the Ocean are layered over feather drawings originally created for my “Wing Dress” series.

The Ocean has been my muse, especially for the dress series, and during a long creative process my daily visit to the water fed me visions and the energy that deepened and lightened me simultaneously.

These images are my attempt at somehow capturing the mystery I’ve witnessed while by, on or in the Sea.

水中で撮った海の画像を、『Wing Dress』シリーズの羽根の絵に重ねた連作。

シリーズ製作中に毎日訪れ、その過程で作品、作者両方をかえていった、海の深さやおおきさの持つ不思議な影響力を、畏怖と賛美を込めて形にしようと試みたもの。

From top:
Underwater Sky 2 (2015)
Sped (2010)
Deeper Teal (2009)
Shore (2011)

Following two:
Underwater Sky (2010)
Gulls in Flight (2015)

Clouds in both “Underwater Sky” was photographed looking through the water surface in mid summer.

「Underwater Sky」の歪んだ雲は夏空を水中から撮影。

Summer sky, seen throuh water, and a floating feather.
Image of sea shore with a wing dyed on silk overlaid.

Light Calligraphy

Moon over the sea, forming a number two.
Rows of candles at night, in blur.
A light house with red windows.

Unlike a more popular approach to light calligraphy that is to move a flashlight while in long exposure, I swing my camera-arm around instead in a way much similar to ink calligraphers with enormous brushes.
I do this solely on my impulse, often times with my eyes closed, as there is no way for me to pre-plan or monitor what is being drawn.

Many of the resulting images (including the pieces presented here) have composition that require no cropping. Some of them even turn out to have resemblances to my past paintings.

Opportunities for light calligraphy arrive spontaneously.
The experience always had enlivening effect on myself and some of those who happened to witness seemed to have joined me in the enthusiasm with curious sort of excitement.

長時間露光と懐中電灯でパターンを描く通常のやりかたではなく、カメラを書道家の筆の様に使い、完全にインスピレーションに頼り（多くは目を閉じた状態で）撮影したもの。

ここに紹介した作品を含めほとんどはトリムの必要を感じさせず、また自作の絵に似通った出来上がりとなったものもある。
通常技術で仕上がりを予測する事を重んじる『写真』という表現形態への、いわば正反対からのアプローチ。

From top:
Moon (2011)
Candle Night (2010)
Light House (2011)

Pool Series

Geometric photo of a swimming pool shot under water surface.
An underwater cross, summer swimming pool.
Crosses under water, summer swimming pool.
A cross and many bubbles, under water, summer pool.
Sky, looked up from under water.

Taken with single-use waterproof camera.

I, a life-long swimmer, who find the most out-of-ordinary images while swimming, one day decided to record what is really taking place at a common neighborhood swimming pool.

In purified moments of simple awe, I witnessed even a symbol like the cross could escape the weight of history and merge into the otherworldly.

真夏の市営プール、というごく一般的な舞台の文字通り水面下で随時繰り広げられる非日常。長年泳ぎ続けた作者にとっては見慣れた光景を、ある日思い立って使い捨てカメラで記録し始めた。

カメラ持ち込み禁止にもかかわらず、作者の「奇行」を数年に渡り多めに見てくれたプール管理者様に心よりお礼を申し上げます。

Pool Series (1999-2004)
From top:
Graveyard
Burning Cross
Three Crosses
Single Cross
Diagonal

The series was exhibited at Create:Fixate Photography Show, September 2006, Los Angeles, curated by Jason Elias.

Monochrome 1982

Vast parking lot of a auto manufacturer, Yokosuka, Japan.

A dog with a leather collar, Miyazaki, Japan.

Mirrors facing each other in a dimly lit rest room, Tokyo, Japan.

A camel, a tourism worker, Miyazaki, Japan.

Black and white photo of a group of people at a rural train station from 1982.

Three Girls in matching white blouse, Miyazaki, Japan, 1982.

Black and white photo of a girl in a bathing suit with border stripes, wearing a smile.

Black and white photograph from 1982, of parked cars and lounging drivers on the summer beach.

Taken during a short while I spent at photography school in Tokyo, early 1982. Re-discovered by myself sometime in 2009.

1982年春から夏にかけての写真を学んでいた短い期間に撮影したもの。
長年しまい込んでいたが2009年の自分に発掘され、自らの高い評価を得るに至った。

From top:
Datsun Lot (Yokosuka, Tokyo)
Dog (Nichinan, Miyazaki)
Rain on a Rail (Tokyo, Jppan)
Lavatory Mirrors (Kanda, Tokyo)
Camel Profile (Nichinan, Miyazaki)
Station (Miyazaki, Japan)
Three Girls in Matching White Blouses (Miyazaki, Japan)
A Smile and Stripes (Ibaraki, Japan)
Don’t Ever Change (Ibaraki, Japan)