KAIKOU

KAIKOU (邂逅)—meaning ‘encounter’ in Japanese— is a collected work of photographic images and a historical photographic process, chemigram, which I utilize to create reactions between the photographic paper and photographic chemicals.

The images in KAIKOU were created in and between my two homes, in Japan and America, over the course of years. Faced with the inability to return to Japan during that challenging time, I began seeking familiar subjects in America that evoked memories of my homeland. Following the paths of light and shadow, I tried to find traces of my home within my fragmented memories. Collecting these pieces, I assembled them to construct a pathway leading to a place called ‘home.’

While KAIKOU became a reflection of reminiscence and nostalgia towards my home country, it transformed into a spiritual journey populated by memories that surface between reality and illusion. It is also a reflection of a sense of emptiness, surrender and acceptance to a greater and larger force or power, such as nature and the universe.

In KAIKOU, following the path of lights and shadows, I encounter evidence of the existence of my home within my own fragmented memories.