Preparing the Embrace exhibition at Gallery ef 浅草in Tokyo. Embrace explores the lives of transgender and gender non-binary kids, teens, adults and elderly from different parts of the world. It will be exhibited from September 2nd-October 25th
Gallery éf 2-19-18 Kaminarimon Taito, Japan www.gallery-ef.com
“Every portrait has a silent voice.” -Itaru Takahara
写真とは、 声なき声。 高原至
I received the sad news that Mr. Itaru Takahara passed away on August
5th. He was 97 years old. Takahara-san survived the atomic bombing of
Nagasaki and the firebombing of Tokyo five months prior.
I
photographed Takahara-san in July 2010 when my hibakusha (atomic bomb
survivor) portraits were exhibited in Nagasaki. Takahara-san was a
famous photographer who published a book documenting the ruins of the
Urakami Cathedral. The atomic bomb detonated over Urakami which was home
to the largest cathedral in eastern Asia. The cathedral was smashed
and half of it’s steeple was tossed down a hill. Takahara-san spent
years after the war documenting children playing and services being held
in it’s ruins.
When I first met Takahara-san he asked me where
my book was. I laughed and told him that no publisher was willing to
print a book of my hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) and firebombing
survivor portraits. I jokingly told him if I ever got a book offer he
would have to write the introduction. A week later I was interviewed by
ZERO NEWS, a national television show in Japan. The next day I was
offered a book deal in Japan. Takahara-san wrote the introduction to my
book, FROM ABOVE, that still inspires me to live every moment with a
burning passion.
Takahara-san was a brilliant photographer but
was an even better person. He had an infectious laugh, a zeal for life
and the same weakness for chocolate cakes that I have. He paid
attention to every minute detail of a photograph and saw beauty in
silence. He reinforced that the importance of a photograph came from
the emotion it resonated! The feelings are all that matters.
I will miss Takahara-san but the years I knew him left a permanent smile in my soul. You’ll always be my friend.
“It was difficult growing up being someone who knows they are a girl in a boy’s body.” -Sammy
Sammy is a teenage transgender girl living in America. Her portrait is part of my long term project, Embrace, which explores the lives of transgender and gender non-binary kids, teens, adults and elderly from different parts of the world.
It will be exhibited for the first time at Gallery ef in Tokyo from September 2nd-October 25th.
