When I was doing my research in Michael Hoppen Gallery, I looked a little bit more at this picture, of a run-down house, a pile of stuff on the street, a little girl running around, which makes it feel like an unknown town in Japan. Everything is so ordinary, the casual shooting method makes the photographer just like a tourist.
I’ve never heard this name Ishiuchi Miyako before I visit this exhibition. I must say, after I did some research on her, her work really caught my eye.
Ishiuchi Miyako,Yokosuka Story #98, 1976-1977
This work is taken on YOKOSUKA, Japan. This photo is from the series Yokosuka Story, to overcome her fear of her homeland, Ishiuchi has turned her first film series on her homeland, Yokosuka. The city is steeped in American culture because of the presence of the United States Navy. However, Yokosuka is a dangerous place, especially for a girl. There is a high incidence of sexual assault here, and no one views it as a crime. This is A place of sexual violence and humiliation. Instead of Iochi staring at the scars, let’s just say these photos are the scars themselves.
“I don’t think of Yokosuka as my hometown and I have few sweet and joyous memories there. It was natural because Yokosuka, a town of the American naval base, was not comfortable to me as a young girl who had newly moved at the time of entering elementary school, to this new place where my father had been working away from our home in the countryside.”
“I started my career as a photographer by photographing Yokosuka. The vivid contrast of light and shadow inherent in the town somehow created photogenic landscapes as the history of the town seemed to be making invisible scars everyday.”
— from the artist’s foreword (https://www.shashasha.co/en/book/from-yokosuka)
During the research, because of my obsession with textures and I’m thinking to do the theme about time in my final major project, her work taught me a lot and inspired me. One of the series is Mother’s.
After 2000, her mother died unexpectedly. Ishiuchi photographed mother’s remains, such as half lipstick, a pair of false teeth, comb, pajamas and so on, these objects are illuminated by the strong light, as if they have souls.
Mother’s #5, 2001
Mother’s #36, 2001
Mother’s #19, 2001
Mother’s #5, 2001, Gelatin Silver Print Mounted Between Plexiglas and Aluminium
11.25 x 7.5″
Mother’s #3, 2001, Gelatin Silver Print Mounted Between Plexiglas and Box Construction 11.25 x 7.5″
Another series is 1947. Ishiguro found 50 girls the same age as his High School, and photographed their bodies as they entered to middle Age. She used a macro Lens to photographed the hands and feet of women over 40,scars, thorns, skin cracks, and the age spots are all revealed.
Reference:
https://www.shashasha.co/en/book/from-yokosuka
https://www.sepiaeye.com/miyako-ishiuchi/
https://www.vincentborrelli.com/pages/books/111041/miyako-ishiuchi-hiromi-ito-koko-yamagishi/miyako-ishiuchi-1947