Traveling Planet

I was born and grew up in Hiroshima, Japan. Ever since I was young, I have lived with one of the most historical symbols of human folly, the Atomic Bomb Dome. After World War Two, people decided to preserve the building as a symbol of peace, to reminds all people how terrible war is, how worthy peace is. However, it does not look like a symbol or reminder of peace at all, it just reminds visions of the future without human beings for me. And it makes me afraid of death. I am interested in photographing subjects that hint our past, present, and future, like the Dome.

Human beings are very unique creatures. Unlike other living things, we are so creative and destructive at the same time. However people have evolved, war never disappears, and in fact people still kill each other with the arms that we have created by ourselves. So, I am interested in the future. I believe that there are scenes that hint of the future within our usual day, and photography can reflect these decisive moments.

For example, I photograph landscapes of people’s daily life. Those usual scenes turn into evidence that we were here. Also, these images have almost surrealistic quality by creating contrast, such as contrast between black and white, these images give an almost surreal quality, which changes the present into visions of the future. As a symbol of our future, an apartment building is also a good example, because structures symbolize how our civilization has progressed. On the other hand, when we see ruins which are made up by our cruel history, we realize how we are going to decline. My images of ruin evoke the Dome.

I use black-and-white film mostly, which compared with color film, it captures less information. Therefore, there is more space which can inspire viewer’s imagination. I hope my photographs remind viewers our history and, make them imagine our future.