Sunday, May 10, 2015

Taxidermy of time [Kyoto streets LVI (Kyoto CLXI)]


This is the 161st set of photos of my life in Kyoto 2011-2013 and also the last one. In other words, I've finally come to an end in going through the photos from Japan. Better late than never as it's already been almost two years since these were taken. Yes, I hate half circles.

As an art form I've learned a lot about photography since I arrived to Japan in 2011. Back then I started shooting almost without any experience. I'd still call it a hobby and consider it a refreshingly anonymous form of expression or a way to see the world.

I've also learned about what I'm documenting by taking photos. I don't just mean the object of a photo but the passage of time itself. As I said, I feel anonymous and relaxed behind the camera, the eyes are not on me but the swirling world around me. And cameras being as common as they are these days, taking part in the flow of images in a photo form is an exciting way to sing a song. Yet a photo is always a copy of something. It's not the real thing but a desperate way to hunt down and stuff the fragile, impermanent reality into a framed image. It's taxidermy of time, but not as a trophy but as a tribute.

I will always miss the time these photos are echoes of. This is but a symbolic gesture in the process of learning how to let go. I blinked thousand times just to see if everything was still there.


To see what happened after this go here.



Around Kyoto, October 4th - 7th 2013:


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