Ontology
“It was spring, 2014.
She was just right there, squirming with laughter as she let loose with what she had to do. That was the day she entered hospital for her third operation on a brain tumor.
Her skull was going to be cut by a big incision, and it was the day to ritually shave her head. Hearing that, anyone would say that it was an anxious and serious situation, one of life’s turning points. Although I at least knew of how unsteady her emotions had been as she faced the countdown to that day, once that day arrived, it was as if her expression had been reborn with the crisp smile of her face that was still lively in my memory.”
“As the years flowed by, she cheerfully lived with the after effects of her condition. And thinking back about the day of the shoot, she said ‘Yeah, it was indulgent, the most exciting time of my life, you know.’
In her way of laughing while talking, there was this now, and my heart was fiﾞlled with the thought that it was good to be photographing her at that time. At that time, I was there, struggling with the anxiety of future uncertainties as I looked, pressing the shutter button as if my life depended on it. Although I had made the suggestion of making a record of all this, I could not imagine whether or not I would actually be able to capture what was special on that day.”
“However, as the weight of time increased, the photographs started to speak about the decision she made on that day and what was precious.
These things called photographs, maybe they exist for such moments. These works became an opportunity to reconsider how, as she and I are hemmed in by people, and for the other people who see these images, how various emotions felt in the past and waiting to be felt in the future will probably continue to be experienced.”
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Reiko Yagi is a Japanese artist and photographer, born in Shiga.
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website: Reiko Yagi
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