CV

My work explores the fundamental human desire for "control." Consciously or unconsciously, we all have the impulse to control everything around us, including nature, life, and others. But what does this desire ultimately bring?

Before becoming a photographer, I worked as a chef. Through the daily experience of cooking countless lives of plants and animals, I confronted the reality that a single life is supported by many deaths, which became the foundation of my artistic vision.

Growing up surrounded by the sea in Kanagawa Prefecture, my encounter with scuba diving gave me an even deeper perspective. The beauty of sunlight seen from underwater, the daily lives of aquatic creatures, and myself as a human being allowed to glimpse their world for a moment. In the world woven by water, light, and living beings, I was fascinated by the essence of "water," which is indispensable to humans yet never submits or panders to us.

Expressing "control" through this relationship with water is the starting point of my photography. My works are born from calculated coincidences.

The "BREATH" series focuses on breathing. Breathing, which is essential for living beings to survive, is constantly repeated while we are alive, and its cessation signifies death. In the extraordinary environment of being underwater, we can confront the value and existence of breathing, which we are not usually aware of. When covered with water, human inner fears surface, and the inability to breathe exposes our attachment to life. By placing ourselves in extreme situations with models and challenging the limits of life, I explore the balance between control and chance. In the movements of the body that do not go as intended, I found the essence of what it means for humans to "live."

The "MOON" series depicts the rhythm of life guided by moonlight. The moon has brought important rhythms to life on Earth through the tides, promoting the evolution of living things. The sea illuminated only by moonlight reminds us of the original natural rhythm. Through the interplay of moonlight reflected on the water's surface and the human body, I poetically express the boundary between life and death. The eternal hair embracing the memory of life (DNA) symbolizes a message passed down through generations. The moonlight emerging in the dark night illuminates the boundary between the fundamental desires of life and the inevitability of death.

The "WAVE" series explores the relationship between humans and nature through a person lying in a mere 13 centimeters of shallow waves. The person surrendering to the waves reflects two opposing relationships. One is the quiet acceptance of becoming one with nature by letting the waves wash away masks and decorations. The other is the vitality to maintain human existence and individuality, resisting complete fusion with nature. By combining cold, hard glass with the soft texture of plaster, I give form to the complex human emotions of seeking unity with nature while feeling resistance to complete fusion.

The "OCEAN" series attempts a dialogue with the broader environment. Various things washed ashore on the beach suggest that even if we want to forget the past, facts continue to exist there. By creating artificial unevenness with charred charcoal and scraped traces on the raw wood that makes use of natural damage, I express the coexistence of nature and artificiality. The plaster incorporates the sand from each shooting location, harboring the memory of the place. I capture how humans, as part of nature, coexist while failing, repairing, and struggling.

Artistic influences are diverse. Various cultural elements such as the flatness of ukiyo-e, Western classical art, science fiction anime, and contemporary dance are reflected in the works. The waves in "WAVE" evoke Hokusai, and the bubbles in "BREATH" suggest the universe. These are also attempts to inherit the Japanese visual language in the present.

The experience of growing up in the Japanese archipelago, with its many volcanoes and earthquakes, fostered a deep sense of awe for the power of nature. In the Shinto worldview, death is part of the fluid cycle of nature, like water. This philosophy underlies my art-making, which fuses technology and tradition. Collaborations with excellent dancers and athletes become powerful metaphors expressing the dynamism of life and the strength and fragility of human beings.

Just as this world is composed of yin and yang, control also has the dual nature of domination and coexistence. We humans, who try to dominate nature and possess the wisdom to coexist with it, how should we strike a balance with these two aspects?

My work questions human existence through the essence of water. It is the interaction of life and death, creation and destruction, control and liberation. It is precisely because certain death exists that life shines brightly. I want to continue asking questions, through photography, about the deep meaning of existence that we tend to overlook in our daily lives.

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