One of Japan`s leading women in photography, Miyako Ishiuchi frequently turns her lens toward the scars upon physical landscapes and the human body. Originally taking up photography to facilitate more time in the darkroom, she has become renowned for her sensitive, resonant portrayal of objects and sceneries which evoke stories from beyond the frame.
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| Miyako Ishiachi; photo: Maki Ishii |
Ishiuchi Miyako said in one of the interviews: "Photography enables one to capture something that cannot be seen with the naked eye. It weaves a link between the past and the present and is therefore an invaluable testimony and a tool for transmission. I have recently discovered the importance of the image as a trace. All of her life, my mother kept a group portrait in which she can be seen with fellow graduates from her driving school in 1934".
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| Miyako Ishiuchi, Scars #7 (scald 1960), 1995 |
Scars (1991–2003). She has likened these marks on the human body to photographs themselves: “When I first encountered the scar, I reflected on photography. . . . While a person hopes to remain unblemished through life, all must sustain and live with wounds, visible and invisible . . . an imprint of the past, welded onto a part of the body.”
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ひろしま/hiroshima #9 (Ogawa Ritsu), 2007, Ishiuchi Miyako. Chromogenic print. © Ishiuchi Miyako |
Miyako Ishiuchi's photographs of clothing and personal items that belonged to people killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The garments are part of the permanent holdings of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Despite the sad subject matter, the photographs are quite beautiful, the mixture of bright colors and textures intersect and create fountains of memory.
Ishiuchi initially photographed objects in a lighted box, later using natural light. On cloudy days, she used a lamp to illuminate the room. Crouching and kneeling, she carefully adjusted her clothes to see every detail. She looked carefully at every stain, every button, every buttonhole. In close-ups of body photos, she also tried to discover something invisible to the naked eye. She focused on arms, legs, and scars. She could make her prints. She took the time to first spread the chemicals on the surface of the paper and then expose them. This long exposure time was to remind her of her experience with taking pictures. In one of the articles I read, she even talked to her lenses while taking photos. Maybe it was one of her technical secrets.
From my point of view, Ishiuchi's works register material traces of the passage of time, turning the focus away from places towards the body and personal belongings. Her photos make a story, something that gives us a lot to think about. I think you can learn a lot from them. Reading a few articles about her I realized that it was hard for her in those days. A female photographer who didn't like taking pictures, she showed others simple simplicity. I liked that. The interesting thing is that to know what the photo shows, we delve into its history. When you learn new techniques, you open up a whole new world of possibilities and provide endless inspiration. Isuchiuchi's work convinced me that it's worth trying new things. While for her it was a return to the past, for me it could be a new experience. Sometimes it is worth applying more, going deeper, for an amazing effect in the final phase. That's why in the next works I will pay more attention to details, just like Isuchiuchi. These photos she took have already stolen my heart and I hope you will like them too.
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Good that you really enjoyed this photographer - try to write more about her photos techically and what you can learn from her photos in relation to your own
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