Saturday, May 31, 2014

Rinko Kawauchi and Terri Weifenbach - a collaboration


 
Following a simple exchange of photographs a collaboration grew and from that an exhibition at Tokyo's IMA Gallery and a bookwork - Gift.

Living in Tokyo and Washington D.C. respectively, Rinko Kawauchi and Terri Weifenbach, are two internationally recognized women photographers, maintaining friendship and contact by exchanging photographs. Kawauchi is one of Japan’s best-known photographers. American Weifenbach is well known for her fantastic and beautiful images of natural landscapes.
They each owned books of the other’s works and began exchanging images via email in 2011. Gift is a result of this photographic exchange. The images were sent as responses, one to another, and as gifts to a faraway friend, the pictures constitute a story of their relationship and communicate the seasons as well as various emotions.

The photographs began to create a line of narrative; in response to Weifenbach’s image of a water surface Kawauchi emails an image of a water drop on tip of a leaf, when Weifenbach sends her an image of grass Kawauchi responds with an image showing silky hair of a child. Such exchanges continued, creating intimate conversation between the two women. Like a gift, the photographs encapsulate thoughts for the other. Through the exchange they share a moment in a passing season, or they remember the moon which both of them witnessed on the same night. The narrative woven through their photographic conversation invites the viewer into a lyrical and mysterious world.

Here are some of the correspondances:

Terri Weifenbach

Rinko Kawauchi

Terri Weifenbach

Rinko Kawauchi

Rinko Kawauchi

Terri Weifenbach
The exhibition at IMA Gallery Tokyo continues until June 22. The photobook Gift can be purchased from the galleries online store or from UK's PHOTOBOOKSTORE, where you can see a vimeo presentation of the book.

   

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