I just want to say a big, heartfelt thank you to all the visitors to my exhibition in Kyoto. I feel so grateful, I keep wanting to say it again and again. Really, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you.
I’m writing this down as a reminder, a little note for myself—maybe one day I’ll look back on this page and find something new, something I might have missed.
I received some wonderful questions from visitors, and I wanted to write them down here as a way to remember.
Q: Why did you put all the photos next to each other, like flowers, then factories, and then nature green?
A: So, we are obviously destroying nature to build our world, and all the flowers in my photos are from parks we’ve created—not part of untouched nature, yet still, they’re from nature. And we enjoy that beauty. There’s only one photo in this exhibition that’s truly natural (the one with a tree about to fall into the lake). At the same time, we can’t survive without technology and civilization. These things are also part of nature for us now. There’s no single “right” answer here, but I hope it makes us think about it. That’s the concept of this exhibition.
Q: Your photos feel very nostalgic. Is that something you think about while shooting?
A: Yes, and I’m trying to make you feel “emotional.” Some people told me, “Your photos make me feel something emotional, like a deep grief.” And yes, that feeling is in me, but it’s also in you. My intention is to help you notice that deep sadness in yourself and realize you’re not the only one carrying it.
Q: The colors in your photos are very vibrant and seem intense. How do you do that? Do you use Photoshop or Lightroom?
A: Here’s a little secret about my photos: the answer is both yes and no. I don’t use much software to edit my photos. I use Affinity Photo, which is really high-quality software, but I don’t rely heavily on it for retouching or editing. Most of the adjustments, I handle directly with my camera. If you can control all the settings when taking a photo, you don’t have to spend hours editing it afterward. Personally, I don’t want to spend long hours editing a single photo. Sometimes, sitting in front of a computer too long makes you lose sight of what’s best or what’s wrong. More importantly, you might forget the feelings and memories from that moment—the ones you experienced by that lake, in that field, or at the place where you took the shot.
Q: When I look at your photos, I feel like there’s something hidden, something beyond the scene. Is that your intention too?
A: Yes! i always trying to take composition to make you feel something “hidden” or i want to make you feel “something in there”, and there’s another one but it’s secret! lol
Q: Some of your photos look like oil paintings—is that intentional?
A: Yes, I’m trying to create a style that feels both film-ish and digital-ish, like an old painting. I want my photos to sit somewhere in the middle, where they feel nostalgic yet have a fresh expression.
Q: why there’s no title plate for each photo? (i didn’t put any title for each photo at this exhibition)
A: I thought that giving each photo a title would make everything feel separate. I wanted this solo exhibition to be seen as a single piece of work, so I decided not to give individual titles to each piece.
Q: Why in Kyoto, why not in Tokyo?
A: When I decided to do a solo exhibition, I thought, “Maybe I should go with my intuition,” so I chose Kyoto. Why not Tokyo? Because I live here, and I know the challenges. I worried I might end up making decisions based on conditions rather than what I truly wanted, and I didn’t want that. So, I decided to hold my solo exhibition somewhere outside of Tokyo.
There are some questions about the locations i shot and etc. I picked up some questions you might want to know.
I hope I can have my solo exhibition soon again.
I just want to thank you to all visitors, all of my followers on instagram, and my friends.
I couldn’t do this without anyone of you. Thank you!
Much love,
tokyokazzo
