Yamazawa Eikoeiko: What I Am Doing No 77, 1986
Eikoeiko says: ‘I believe that how you think about photography as a human being is more important than pursuing reality’
Unseen wonders: 70 years of Japanese female photographers – in pictures
Japanese photography has traditionally been dominated by men – but a new collection, I’m So Happy You Are Here, celebrates 25 female artists. They discuss their electrifying works
‘Through chances and failures, I believe you can find a critical new perspective, a new critical mind. Whether you admit or reject it, the chance or failure significantly affects your art,’ says Kunié
Kawauchi Rinko: Untitled, the eyes, the ears series, 2004
Rinko, winner of outstanding contribution to photography at the Sony world photography awards 2023 says: ‘Part of why I make photographs is to confirm my existence. That liminal space is what feels closest to how I experience reality’
Hara Mikiko: Untitled, 2006
Mikiko says: ‘By not sticking to the viewfinder, the boundary between what is in and out of the shot becomes ambiguous. By taking photographs without a set theme or desire to shoot in this or that way, I would like to keep myself in a state of openness to the external world around me’
Yurie Nagashima: Full-figured, yet not full-term, 2001
Nagashima: ‘The self-portrait means that you can take on both roles, as a model and as a photographer. When you have a camera on a tripod, you have the space in front of the camera and also the space behind the camera. It’s very symbolic. It’s a way of taking action against the historical roles of the male and female in photography’
THE GUARDIAN
