Explore How both Mateusz Sarello and Yoshikatsu Fujii use archive/old images to convey the theme of separation and loss through their work.

“This work may be a personalized narrative for myself, but “family” is something that everyone has – a universal theme.”

Yoshikatsu Fujii

Loss and separation and the effects of divorce on family. I felt inclined to study this due to my own experience on the subject, in relation to my parents own divorce and my mother moving away to the UK. Separation, especially divorce is difficult for everyone involved, and that is something I wanted to show through my project. I will be looking at Japanese photographer Yoshikatsu Fujii, specifically his project ‘Red String’ and also Polish photographer Mateusz Sarello and his project ‘Swell’. I chose Fujii because his images resonated with my experience of parents divorce and he manages to express similar feelings. I thought I would effectively be able to use his images as inspiration and effectively respond. The incorporation of old family photos really spoke to me and it was definitely something I wanted to include into my project. Sarello’s ‘Swell’ is another one of my inspirations as I find the way he laid out his book (the broken spine and the ‘happier’ images first with a gap and the ‘sadder’ images after) and the images using flash interesting and a great way of creating a disturbing feeling in a viewer. Both artist’s use of archive images create a depth to their work as it adds context to their work. Without them the desired affect wouldn’t be as poignant. They create juxtaposition between the past and present which makes Fujii and Sarello’s work so touching and effective. We can identify with them as we all have personal archives with attached memories.

Historical Context – Archives

Archive art isn’t a a new concept but is surprisingly common. Photographic archives are typically defined as collections of photographs held by libraries or museums. However, more recently, photographers and curators have been using these archives as part of their work and the definition of archives images is changing. For example artists are now creating their own archives, some are using personal archives such as family albums and some are using rejected images or projects and reusing them for another purpose. I believe that using old images for another purpose in a way could be considered as using archive images. Archival art pays homage to events and people or is used as a framing device or as art historian Hal Foster described it; it “make[s] historical information, often lost or displaced, physically present” (Breakell, S). Sue Breakell describes archival art as “post-postmodernist” (Breakell, S) in that “it comes after post-modernism: it is part of, and indeed embodies, a turn that reflects not simply the urge to deconstruct, but a more fertile and iterative urge to build in a way that not only is not monolithic but also is inclusive” (Breakell, S), suggesting that archives have evolved to create a place for reflection and are able to be used in photography and other art mediums as a form of call to break down the past to create a better future and in this makes archival art turn from just a form of history to an artistic form of expression. Breakell therefore also sees the archives are not only being used by artists to inform research into work they are doing but also as “an arena for the consideration of philosophical questions about its nature and meaning” (Breakell, S) of an artists work. Archives are often used as a theme in many artists work. More recently biennial curators have used historical archives in their shows, such as Massimiliano Gioni who incorporated an enormous amount of documentary materials into his work such as photographs of the victims of atrocities in Cambodia in his Gwangju Biennial. Another example is Zoe Leonard who created a fictional character, Fae Richards, an acclaimed black actress and singer who “lived” from 1908 to 1973. Leonard did this for what wanted to be a fictional archive of the “legendary” character. Leonard used film stills, publicity materials, photographs, and recollections to create the archive but she actually made it from using the real lives and stories of black women in the early days of Hollywood. Through her invented character, Leonard began a conversation about very real issues that risked being forgotten. Archive images have always been used either to give photography context or a medium for people to respond to and influence their creativity, in the case of Mateusz Sarello, even though his images aren’t necessarily taken from an archive as such, they are still images taken without the intention of being used in the context they have ended up in, like many other images within photographic archives. The images he took before his break up are mild and gentle polaroids which are unsaturated and subdued. This creates a perfect juxtapositions for the angry photos of the waves that then spill out of the following pages, embodying the emotions you would feel after a break up or loss. For Yoshikatsu Fujii however, the images are of his childhood and his parents early lives together add a personal and bittersweet feeling to the book. Again, the juxtapositions contrasts between the happiness of the past and uncertainty and difference of the present.

For my study on my parents divorce, the use of ‘archived images’ will be extremely important, as they will give a juxtaposing image from my childhood to now. It is this difference that I want to focus on, as it will express my feelings around my parents divorce and also the effect of divorce on family dynamics and how these dramatic these changes can be.

Yoshikatsu Fujii – Red String

Archive images have been used for ages, however, not many people have taken their own old family photos and used them within the concept of archive art, which is something Japanese photographer Yoshikatsu Fujji has decided to explore in his project ‘Red String’. His photographic works often deal with historical themes and memory lingering on in contemporary events. Red string was based on the split of Fujii’s parents with inspiration for the name and nature of the book coming from the legend of the restring, popular in Asain culture. The legend tells that soul mates have a red string tied around their little finger from the moment they are born and are destined to meet. the string apparently can never be untied or broken. Fujii reflects on this legend stating that maybe “the red string tying my parents together came undone, broke, or perhaps was never even tied to begin with” (Fujii, Y). Fujii has used old family photos along with inserted notes and original images of his family to express his feelings on his parents divorce. The images he takes of his parents and family are very candid and simple, which allows him to capture his parents true selves. This simplicity of the portraits also seem lonely, with the black and white making the parents seem isolated, with Fujjis “anxiety” (Fujii, Y) over his parents divorce clearly shown. The book wouldn’t be complete without the use of his old family photos to juxtapose this. The images of his family are full of smiles and colour, making the black a white lone images of his parents seem more bitter than they already did. The image above is a perfect a example of this contrasting mood. This contrast between his parents wedding, which is meant to be the happiest day of they lives, and his mother alone on a beach, with no one but the memory of her husband, seems sentimental but also harsh. The layering of the images allow their lives to be to close but also so separate from each other which is how someone does feel during divorce. This image could be showing Fujii’s desire for his family to be whole again but as reviewer Alexander Strecker says it is merely “fragments of that which was” (Strecker, A). This book could be Fujii’s way of coping as the book is so personal and intimate. Strecker claims the book is a “reconstructed journal of this separation” (Strecker, A), however I believe rather than being a journalisms of the separation, I believe it is more like a journal of coping with the change. The book itself is broken, with a split in the centre, forever keeping his mum and dad separated, a tragic thought for those who know hat its like for parents to separate. The archive images used so frequently are almost a form of grounding. It is continually reminding a viewer of the past happiness making the separation and loss so much greater. The handmade fragile book really encompasses the fragility of life friendship and love.

I responded to Fujii’s work by taking candid images of my parents, specifically them doing normal chores. I thought this would make this emotion behind my images more genuine than if I staged them. However, as I was using old family images as well, for this shot I had to get my dad to pose for the photo to line up properly. I stayed true to the theme however. the photo I took is in black and white while the photo i used from the family albums stayed in colour with the only editing being cutting my mum out of the image and placing her in the new photo then bleeding it together. I didn’t use flash either. I preferred the blending rather than just putting the photo in on top of the original as Fujii did because I enjoyed the outcome of the ghostly image, almost as if the memory is fading. The rest of my images are portraits and objects or settings with minimal editing, just made monochrome.

Mateusz Sarello – Swell

Where as Fujii uses his archive images to convey a sort of sadness toward the separation of his parents and the loss of his normal family life, Mateusz Sarello conveys anger and resentment. The archive images Sarello uses are not like Fujii’s, instead his images are from a discontinued project which he then uses, similarly to Fujii, to juxtapose the past and present emotions. Swell started off as a documentation of the Baltic sea, with images in typical polaroid style. The images are calm and unsaturated, with the subject being typical scenes you would see day to day. However, during his project Sarello split with his partner. He recalls the break up changed him and he was unable to complete the project as it was designed. The book then transformed into a project about heartbreak and unaccepted loneliness. He took the rest of images whilst going back to places he previously went with his girlfriend. So in his work, archive images are images which he took before his breakup, that he is using in a different context with the purpose of creating a split and separation. Reviewer on the site Culture.pl, Dariusz Bochenek, expresses his opinion of the split in the book, stating “Swell literally falls apart in the reader’s hands. The book appears to be broken, torn into two halves.” (Bochenek, D). The book then splits between Sarello’s old images and his new ones. The gap looks messy and the pages are a different size; everything mimics his break up and his vulnerability afterwards. It also represents the split up of him and his partner, almost as if its meant to signify a new chapter in his life, which is drastically different, which in Bochenek’s opinion is a perfect show of the “dualism of love and sudden acute loneliness” (Bochenek, D). The move from softer polaroids to the harsh grainy images with flash is striking. You can feel his hurt and pain as you see the waves and the sharpness of the shadows and light due to the flash. The hectic nature of the birds flying over him make his head seem clouded, whilst the brightness of the images resembles when you walk out of the shade into the dazzling sun, compared to the dark photo of the birds flying in a neat line on the opposite page. It makes the viewer feel overwhelmed. Through using the older image, or archive images, Sarello is able to contrast his emotions so graphically, we can begin to understand his emotions and reaction to separation and loss. The title itself “Swell’ could relate to the emotions you feel after a break up which is a complete mix, as well as a nod towards his original idea of a documentation of the baltic sea.

My response to Sarello followed his general invasive photographing technique along with flash. Similar to my response to Fujji, I kept the photos candid and didn’t stage any of them. I purposefully tried to catch my parents off guard when taking these photos. For editing, I again kept it minimal, only putting my images into black and white, however with these images I enhanced the grain within the image as it is something that Sarello does often with his images in this project. In this specific image I wanted to catch my mum doing something and I managed to get a photo of her halfway through a sentence. I like how it brings personality to my mum, that a staged image probably would not.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both Mateusz Sarello and Yoshikatsu Fujii document their experience with separation and loss using archived images to create a contrast and split between their lives before and after experience, however they both go about it in different ways. Fujii documents his parents gently and with care, with soft lighting and simple positioning, Sarello uses harsh flash in his images and a candid “assault” (Bochenek, D) like technique which creates a hectic and angry feeling rather than sentimental. The nature of both artists archive images differ as well. Fujii uses old family photos that create that context and sentimental feeling of what once was, whereas Sarello actually uses some of his own old work along with differing page sizes to mimic the split and juxtapositions. Both artists projects follow the similar theme of separation and loss, however, their outcomes are both different as Mateusz Sarello went through the break up himself, whereas Yoshikatsu Fujii is documenting his parent breakup and the second hand effects. Archive images within their projects are vital, without them they would have the same value or background information. My project itself follows Fujii’s project more closely as I am also using family images and documenting my parents break up, however I’m using Sarello’s aggressive style with flash rather than Fujii’s passive approach. Archive images are a way to look into and reflect on the past. By using archive images along with original images, rather than creating a statement, you’re creating a sort of question effect, a bit like the Kuleshov effect. This effect states that two sequential shots give off more meaning than a single shot in isolation in film. In photography this could translate into to two images being sew together to create an emotional response in a viewer, especially when archives are involved.

Bibliography:

Bochenek, D, Swell – Mateusz Sarello, https://culture.pl/en/work/swell-mateusz-sarello (Accessed 11.2.20)

Red String, The New Edition: An Interview with Yoshikatsu Fujii https://www.ceibaeditions.com/red-string-the-new-edition-an-interview-with-yoshikatsu-fujii/ (Accessed 11.2.20)

Fujii, Y, Red String https://www.yoshikatsufujii.com/red-string (Accessed 11.2.20)

Strecker, A, BOOK REVIEW – Red String https://www.lensculture.com/articles/yoshikatsu-fujii-red-string (Accessed 11.2.20)

Artspace Editors (22 January 2014) How the Art World Caught Archive Fever https://www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/art_market/the_art_worlds_love_affair_with_archives-51976 (Accessed 11.2.20)

Breakell, S, Archival practices and the practice of archives in the visual arts https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/381086/Binder1.pdf (Accessed 11.2.20)

Hellerman, J (30 Januray 2019) Everything you Need to Know About the Kuleshov Effect https://nofilmschool.com/Kuleshov-effect-definition (Accessed 12.2.20)