Rinko Kawauchi is a Japanese photographer born in Shiga, Japan in 1972 and is a very active photographer today.
She is currently working in Tokyo putting pictures together for her upcoming publication. Kawauchi has a very unique style which is half down to her choice of equipment and half down to her developed ideas and concepts.
She has experimented using 35mm, large format and panoramic cameras she prefers using a twin lens medium-format Rolleiflex camera. Kawauchi takes images of normal objects but she shoots them in a way that makes them look like there in a dreamland. The lighting is always bright and they are often very soft focus with the object of emphasis being sharp.
She is currently working in Tokyo putting pictures together for her upcoming publication. Kawauchi has a very unique style which is half down to her choice of equipment and half down to her developed ideas and concepts.
She has experimented using 35mm, large format and panoramic cameras she prefers using a twin lens medium-format Rolleiflex camera. Kawauchi takes images of normal objects but she shoots them in a way that makes them look like there in a dreamland. The lighting is always bright and they are often very soft focus with the object of emphasis being sharp.
Her photos tends to be pastel coloured and
she constantly uses the themes of family, human interaction alongside nature
and the cycle of life. Her photographs always capture beautiful
detail of the subject matter which makes the object look rather surreal and
exquisite. Her photography has been compared
to
haiku poems as through her photos the subject is very clear and seems to
provide a precise description of ordinary objects to reveal a hidden meaning.
Illuminance
Illuminance was the first book that Rinko Kawauchi had published outside of Japan. As always the book was shot on a 6x6 camera giving every photo a square format much like the rest of her work. The title Illuminance is the scientific term used to measure light.
The photos featured in the book are a
very unique style and easily identifiable as the work of Kawauchi as
it combines contemporary photography with art in a way like no other.
Her work seems to be quite different from
other photographers. Kawauchi
focuses on small details in the world. The title of the book ‘Illuminance’
could mean she is illuminating parts of the world that we would otherwise
ignore. She draws attention to the way light falls on an object to
create beautiful pictures of objects or scenes that we would otherwise ignore.
When you look at the photos there is a real sense of mystery about them as they
are mostly up close to objects and you have to look at them for a few seconds
to sometimes realise what
has been photographed.
It is hard to see how the photos were
created, some of them look like beams of light under a microscope and others
are saturated scenes of calm forests. All with a common theme of light.
Sometimes the light is reflecting off or through an objects and sometimes the
‘light’ in the photo is a flare from the sun.
Her photos show incredible detail and she
has obviously mastered the skill of creating a scene from single objects using
light as the main element.
However with the light comes the dark, Kawauchi has
been known to focus on the circle of life and illuminance is
no different. In several photos she uses circles and spirals which may
literally represent the circles of life. There are several photos in the book
that show how we as humans interact with the natural world around us. The
photos seem to be in a sequence and each page opens a new idea.
These two photos are placed next to each
other in the book and obviously share similar themes of nature. The lower photo
could have many meaning for example how we as humans damage the landscape and
forests for our own use but in contrast the top photograph shows how we live in
harmony with other animals and creatures. Having said this someone else could
look at the photos and see something totally different. This is what makes Kawauchis work
so special.
