Call sign © Haruna Kawanishi
Four Season Hotel Chinzanso 10-8, Sekiguchi 2-chome, Bunkyo-ku 112-8667 Tokyo Japon
« I have been creating photographic works. My aim is to represent three dimensional landscapes which can be shared with audiences. It is difficult for anyone to perceive the fact without interpretation. A photograph can capture the fact but it is not “the truth”. I believe everyone looks at the images referring to the story which he/she created.
What captured in my photographic works are my own alter egoism and at the same time it is viewer’s alter egoism. The most important aspect in my works is to share the same landscape. That is the power of a story and I believe in it.
During my college years, I studied creative drama writing with my desire to be a film director. I also studied film making and through that I learned that world is full of different of interpretations. One same story can be a comedy or a tragedy depends on how a person perceives it. And there is no absolutely right answer in this world because it depends on one’s perspectives. Humanity is not evolving toward the perfection but we exist with diversity.
I am aspiring to create artworks which leave the gaps for viewers to fill up. The meaning of “filling the gap” is that I leave the viewers to complete my works by putting their own interpretation, their own story. There is no absolute right explanation or interpretation for my works. Their meanings can be depends on how the viewers perceive it. My artwork is conversational in a sense. I create my own story which will be completed by viewers with their own stories added to it. I don’t want to believe that my proposition is the only absolute right answer. I refuse to judge my proposition but to state them as my choice and express it. » Haruna Kawanishi
Call sign © Haruna Kawanishi
Call sign
« “Call sign” is call letters which is used at broadcasting station or radio station. It is a sign to confirm connection, by telling others “this is a communication” . It was named as “phatic communication” by Roman Osipovich Jakobson. For example, “Hello?” or “Can people in the back hear me?” are one of these communications. It is a communication to confirm that message comes into existence, and it sometimes refers to “metacommunication” or “a communication for the communication” .
I came up with this title by imagine myself on the lighthouse, casting a light, and saying “Is this communication maintained? Is my word reaching out to you?”
This artwork is a story consists of 16 photographs, and lined up two different situations at the same time. One is an apple. Apple has sent Little Snow White to death by just a one bite, and it also made Adam and Eve to chased out from The Garden of Eden. I have shot process of eating that apple in a sequence. The other one describes a woman (who has eaten whole apple) goes around city and forest. A woman is moving up and down, in parallel, and going around connections between external worlds. There are metaphors in all over this series. It is in apple, forest, all places and movements. And by lining up these photographs, I try to see if audience can find a new story.
I do Aikido (art of weaponless self-defense). Japanese way of expression is always start from the form. This form is in Aikido, No Play (traditional masked dance-drama), Haiku, Stone garden, etc.. I believe my directorial technique is the same, which means that emotion is shown on shape of body. The form is an action of simplifying movement and eliminating any unnecessary motion. And its symbolic representation creates any kind of interpretations. It’ s an action of communication by the way of approach and deed, rather than just words.
I trust audience’ s interpretation to “Call sign” , therefore receiving of message, and how they read them are all leave to each audience. There are a lot of communications by “eye contact” and infinite sequences that must be read out. I’ m not trying to tell a story to the audience by shouting from top of the stage. This is a story for those who can receive message as “Call Sign / Call Letters” . I hope audience will fill up spaces between lines, edit a story, and enjoy this series. » Haruna Kawanishi
Call sign © Haruna Kawanishi
Photos et vignette © Haruna Kawanishi