journey of memories

all photos from chino.co.uk

I feel like writing in English.

It is called 'double self portraits'. She used a childhood photo of herself, the current her went to the same place, stand on the same spot and make a photo again. Then she combines both photos, the little girl and the more recent her, are now standing side by side.

The idea is so simple, but the emotion connection is so deep.

When I saw her photos in the gallery last week, it was a very warm afternoon, we are the only one in the gallery. I have the whole room by myself.

And then, so much memories and feelings arise. An immense loneliness.

I can't escape but stare at the loneliness of the little girl, which has now become me.

A voice whispered to me, the little girl was never alone, the other her is always standing by her side.

It was so beautiful that I feel like I really want to cry.

In another photo series 'Tokyo 4-3-4-506', the photographer went back to the apartment where she used to live with her family before she moved to UK at the age of 12. You do not see her face but only part of her body.

For example, her feet, her hands or her eyes. Behind the curtain, inside the bathtub or behind the sliding door.

Again, by looking at the photos,  you fall back to your own past, triggering your own emotions and memories. 

Who is the photographer? But I don't think I should regard her as a photographer. She is not just someone who captures amazing beautiful photos. She is someone who knows exactly how to use this medium to connect, explore and express her feelings. She is an artist.

Yes, I love her works and was immensely inspired by her.

Her name is Chino Otsuka. If you are in Amsterdam this summer, go to Huis Marseille to see her exhibition.

 "When I start playing with a memory I take the whole place as a theatre. It becomes a theatrical space, where I act out and direct in my own memory" - Chino Otsuka