Pulmon de AiresMICHELE MOLINARI
Oshichi MICHIKO CHIYODA
Untitled, 2017 © Ichiro Kojima
Mino Di Vita interviews Ichiro Kojima who won first place in the #VIRTUALLY02 photocontest with his project The Square Hometown.
Mino Di Vita: How long ago did you start photography with the goal of making a photo project and not just a photograph?
Ichiro Kojima: I started shooting this project in 2012, but at first I wasn't sure if it would last long. Because I was afraid to go into this town. As I got to know people and became more familiar with them, it became clear that I wanted to complete this project. Although It took about 10 years to complete.
MDV: What was the reason that prompted you to make this choice?
IK: This small town had a lot of attractive looking models. At the same time, when I met the people of this town, I couldn't help but think about what it means to live. The work of shooting while thinking about such things was deep enough to keep me going for a long time.
Untitled, 2015 © Ichiro Kojima
MDV: Your photos are mainly taken in black and white, why?
IK: Because I want to be in full control of shooting, developing, and printing, and black and white allows me to do that. Prints are especially important for photographic expression. Until a while ago, I was making silver prints in the darkroom, so it was difficult to make color prints. But now I'm shooting by films and scanning them and printing it on a computer, so I may be making color work in the near future.
Untitled, 2017 © Ichiro Kojima
MDV: Which famous photographers influence your work and why?
IK: Shomei Tomatsu’s Okinawa series and The Gypsies from Joseph Koudelka. From their portrait photography, I strongly felt the way of the life of photographers themselves. I learned how portrait photography should be from them.
Untitled, 2014 © Ichiro Kojima
MDV: Very often the subjects of your work are people who live an unfortunate existence. What do you want to achieve by publishing their portraits?
IK: Even if you lose your property or family, what is it that humans will cherish until the end? It may be the same as questioning the meaning of life. If a little piece of the answer is reflected in my photographs, it is something that everyone has, and I believe that viewers cannot refuse to resonate with them regardless of their nationality or language.
Untitled, 2014 © Ichiro Kojima
MDV: Which photographic genre do your shots belong to?
IK: I am not sure. However, although I am sometimes referred to as a documentary photographer by others, I have no intention of shooting documentaries at all.
Untitled, 2017 © Ichiro Kojima
MDV: In your opinion, when can a photograph be called artistic?
IK: What only photography, not literature or painting, can do is to express a straight line of sight on the prints. The visual stimulus, when well printed, allows the viewer to experience the true excitement of what the photographer saw and discovered. And if it has the power to move the viewer's heart, isn't that the first step from photography to art?
Untitled, 2014 © Ichiro Kojima
MDV: What are your next projects?
IK: I have already started a project to take portraits of young people in Japan. The meaning of young people is too long to write here, so I will omit it. I think it will take several years to complete. In addition to that, I am also photographing things and people that I encounter on a daily basis, and I am always thinking about whether new projects will be born from such everyday photography.
Untitled, 2017 © Ichiro Kojima
Untitled, 2017 © Ichiro Kojima
Ichiro Kojima (Tokyo - Japan, 1965)
Dopo il viaggio in Corea del Sud e Bangladesh all'età di 16 anni, quando ho abbandonato la scuola superiore nel 1982, ho trascorso più di 10 anni viaggiando principalmente in Europa. A volte ho vagato per più di mezzo anno lavando i piatti e facendo l'autostop, altre volte sono rimasta per mesi a casa di un amico conosciuto in treno. E se possibile, volevo continuare il mio viaggio spensierato e vivere come era. Dopo essermi laureata in un'università giapponese, ho iniziato a lavorare come redattrice per riviste e libri. Anche se avevo molte foto sulla scrivania ogni giorno, erano solo materiale per il mio lavoro e non volevo mai scattarle personalmente. Un giorno ho dovuto traslocare e ho trovato le foto dei miei vecchi viaggi. C'erano molte città e persone che avevo dimenticato da tempo. Poi mi sono reso conto che, per quanto si potesse pensare che fosse importante, col tempo sarebbe sparito dalla memoria. Così mi è venuto in mente di voler conservare una traccia dei momenti vissuti. Con questa idea in mente, ho iniziato a fotografare.
