Nap

This is a photobook featuring everyday subjects such as carp, clouds, crows, curtains, a grandfather, diamonds, sunny-side up eggs, ants, and butterflies.
Let us turn our gaze towards overlooked scenery and neglected flora and fauna.
Through Rinko Kawauchi's camera, ordinary glass shines like jewels, an ant has its own distinct style, and the carcass of a pigeon emits a chilling, "do not approach" aura.
Gentleness and fear intertwine, evoking a powerful sense of life and death.

In 2001, Rinko Kawauchi simultaneously released three photobooks: "Utatane," "Hanabi," and "Hanako." These not only marked the origin of her photographic journey but also established her future visual style. Among them, "Utatane" and "Hanabi" received the 27th Kimura Ihei Award for Photography.

"Utatane" was photographed over five years, with continuous, interconnected everyday scenes arranged based on composition and visual form rather than the meaning of the images themselves. This creates a completely different sensory experience, like a fleeting slideshow in a doze. In the everyday life that we all see, Rinko Kawauchi captures unexpected moments, showcasing the beauty and danger of the mundane, and reminding us that life is a series of such moments.

"Hanabi" involved traveling to various fireworks displays across Japan, pursuing the different perspectives of fireworks. Fireworks are beautifully created artificial moments, and a captivating symbol of beauty. By incorporating the relationships between surrounding objects and people, Rinko Kawauchi highlights the beauty of the instant when the fireworks ignite.

Rinko Kawauchi was born in Shiga Prefecture in 1972 and currently lives in Tokyo. In 2002, she received the Kimura Ihei Award for Photography and the Photographic Society of Japan Newcomer's Award. The Invisible Photographer Asia platform once selected 12 of Asia's most influential photographers, and Rinko Kawauchi was included alongside Japanese photography masters such as Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki, making her one of the highly anticipated photographers.