rinko kawauchi
Rinko Kawauchi is a Japanese photographer born in 1972. Her work is characterized by a serene, poetic style, depicting the ordinary moments in life. She studied at Seian College of Art and Design and graduated in 1993. She worked in advertising for several years after graduationg, but later became a fine art photographer. In 2001 three of her photo books were published. They were Hanako (a japanese girl’s name), Utatane (catnap), and Hanabi (fireworks). Kawauchi’s images are rooted in Shinto, the ethnic religion of the people of Japan. According to Shinto, all things on earth have a spirit, this shows in her work because no subject is too small or mundane for her. Most of her images are in a 6×6 format.
I came across this photographer after doing my manipulation edits task. Her work is quite similar and in the same style as Laura El Tanawy. Both their work contains a bleach, bright atmosphere that I love. Her images are extremely pure and have this innocent sense to them. She is aiming to capture the world as she sees it, with a spirit in everything and everyone. Although all of her images are quite dis-similar they all contain a beauty that link to each other in someway.
Within her many series she chooses to fragment certain scenes. She sees the beauty in everyday life and captures it. Her images range from landscapes to portraits to abstract scenes. She pinpoints the beauty that she sees and displays it, closely observing it.
Within her work, she doesn’t have a set theme like most photographers who choose to focus on one thing, such as a memory, or a a certain object. Kawauchi uses the world as her subject. She fragments the beauty of every day situations and uses her photographing style to manipulate them. Kawauchi is breaking the rules of photography like the photographer Laura El Tanawy. She fragments the scene rather than framing the whole thing. This is what makes her images so unique and interesting. They all tell their own specific story. I also love the colour and aesthetic of her images.