Category Archives: Portfolio

Flag Series

An abstract patch work.

Being in the moment is looking at a national flag and seeing a piece of cloth.

An abstract patch work.

Flag Series (2003- ) was born out of my fondness for weathered materials.

Few decades back, I found an old American flag in a dusty pile at a thrift store. Over time as I examined the material, transiency I saw woven into the fading fabric spoke to me that, with all it had seen, what remains is only the beauty of life, pulsating in this moment.

By scissoring National flags, I do not intend to dishonor the Nations or the feelings of those who stand behind them. This is not an act of protest.
Rather, by using the Flags as a mere, yet uniquely attractive material in forms nearly unrecognizable of their origins, I wish to abandon the roles assigned to them so as to bring forth the tales of their individual histories.

古布への愛着からうまれたシリーズ。

20数年前古着屋で見つけたアメリカ国旗の質感や色合いから伝わってきた、その布の持つ時を経た重みを感じ取るうちに、国をしょって立つ役割を負い辿ってきたであろうその布の、個としての歴史に光をあてたいと願うようになり制作に至った。

国旗を素材として加工することにより、その国ないし国を愛する感情を侮辱する、または政治的な発言をする意図は全くない。
あえていうならば、『国旗』を感じさせない作品に仕上げることで、社会において与えられた役割から距離を置き、素材の固の独自性をとらえ美術的に表現することが当方の目指すところである。

A patch worked bikini.

From top:
Flag Bag – detail (2006)
Flag Bag with fringed strap (2006)
Suzi Q Bikini Top (2003)

A patch worked bikini.

Last Edited: November 27, 2020

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Pool Series

Abstract image of a swimming pool.
Abstract image of a swimming pool.
Abstract image of a swimming pool.
Abstract image of a swimming pool.
Abstract image of a swimming pool.

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.

Last Edited: November 27, 2020

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Painted Dresses

A hand painted dress on the beach.

A hand painted dress on the beach.

A hand painted dress on the beach.

From Top:
Bar Code Dress (1996)   Silver barcode hand painted on one side. Pigment fabric paint on polyurethane.
Drafting Dress (1996)   Silver mechanical drawing. Pigment fabric paint on polyurethane.
Pixel Dress (1998)   Subdued pixels in gradations of gray. Pigment fabric paint on rayon-polyurethane.

A hand painted dress on the beach.

A hand painted dress on the beach.

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Monochrome 1982

Auto mobiles in a fenced parking lot.

A chained dog.

City housings in rain.

Mirrors facing each other in a dimly lit rest room.

Profile of a harnessed camel.

A group of seated people on a train station platform.

Three Girls in matching white blouse on the beach.

A girl with a smile on the beach.

Cars parked on the fenced 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 (Nichinan, Miyazaki)
Station (Miyazaki, Japan)
Three Girls in Matching White Blouses (Miyazaki, Japan)
Best Friends Forever (Ibaraki, Japan)
Don’t Ever Change (Ibaraki, Japan)

Last Edited: November 27, 2020

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