When left still and set to slowly capture the light of a space, the mechanism of a camera fails to capture a moving object. It is exactly that strategy that the artist Tokihiro Sato utilizes to make his beautiful landscape + light sculpture imagery.
(Photo-Respiration #155 1992)
(Photo-Respiration #1 1988)
Upon sharing some of my photographs and design proposals based on my recent travels my big sister Trisha introduced me to Sato’s work that philosophically and aesthetically carried some inspiring similarities.
Using flashlights and mirrors, he places himself throughout the landscape, exposing the film to a trace of his presence in the light. I admire Sato’s technique and not even ghostly presence in the images despite his continuous existence in the space during the film’s exposure (last at least an hour). Ultimately the image alters the documented site as it captures the light burnouts and static conditions while wiping away motion and even the artist himself. His work can easily fall into categories of photography, sculpture, land art, and performance.
Sato equates his work to life and breath. His implications focus around the life of the site and the presence of the people (despite their lack of documentation) in the framed landscape.
I am still trying to capture my breath from the power and beauty of his work.
