Suzuki’s parents, who a owned photo studio, went missing after the 2011 tsunami. Their house was destroyed. It was a place for working, but also for living. After the disaster, she found her father’s lens, portfolio, and their family album buried in the mud and the rubble.
One day, she tried to take a landscape photo with her father’s muddy lens. The image came out dark and blurry, like a view of the deceased. Through taking it, she felt that she could connect this world with that world. The family snapshots she found were washed white, the images disappearing. The portraits taken by her father were stained, discolored.
Those scars similar to the damage seen in the town, similar to her memories which she is slowly losing. By arranging these photos, she attempts to restore it.
About the Artist
Born in 1977 in Onagawa, Japan. Mayumi Suzuki was born and raised in a family who ran a photo studio founded by her grandfather in 1930 in the town of Onagawa.
March 11, 2011. On this day an incident which changed her life occurred. Her hometown Onagawa was destroyed by the tsunami and her parents went missing.
She decided to begin photography to tell this story. She captures them as an individual and not just faceless figures, leaving the photographs as proof of their lives.
IN OTHER IMAGE, WHEN WORDS FAIL
International Portfolio Showcase
National Library Plaza
05 Oct—30 Oct
Free admission
