IT started at a country flea market with the discovery of 300-odd photographs of Japanese people taken in Japan mostly between the 1930s and the 1960s.
In them, the same people appeared in different situations, giving the impression they were from the same family. All that the stallholder knew about the photos was that they came from a deceased estate in Geelong,
It was enough to intrigue their finder, Japanese-born artist and arts producer Mayu Kanamori, who has set about unlocking the mystery in her evolving and interactive photographic project Untitled.Showa.
With the help of the public, she seeks answers to many questions. They include:
- What were the photos doing in Geelong?
- Who are the people in them?
- How might they, the photographer and/or their descendants be found?
- Should the images be returned to someone in Japan or archived in an appropriate way.
- Should items lost or forgotten be left alone?
- For Untitled.Showa, the photographs were digitised and uploaded online, with the pubic invited to help.
The website allows users can comment, compare photographs, tag, participate in forums and contribute stories. In addition, an exhibition is underway in real form in Sydney, with another to be held in Geelong.
As well as looking to solve the puzzle, the project looks at the ways observers view photos in the modern age.
Mayu says that with 1.8 billion images uploaded daily on the internet, individual photos are now seen in split seconds.
Although there are many merits to this in terms of viewing, taking and "liking", we have lost the power of reflective slow photographic viewing experiences, considered knowledge of why we take them, and what could inspire us into action upon our reflections.
Against this background, Mayu will host workshops in which she discusses "found" photography as a creative project, its history and its concerns.
Participants will be introduced to the mystery of the collection, interacting with the photographs either by looking through them physically or online.
The aim is to find clues that connect the puzzle, such as seeing same people in different situations, clothing and scenery that tells the era..
Writers, poets, artists and scholars are also invited to respond to the images through artworks and/or writing an essay, short story or a poem about a specific photograph or a group of photographs.
Contributors, workshop participants and website forum users are encouraged to participate.
Everything will be documented, translated into Japanese and exhibited online, and if possible, in community exhibition spaces both here and in Japan.
Untitled.Showa, The interactive project can be seen at mayu.com.au or in actual form at Level 2 Central Park Mall, 28 Broadway, Chippendale, until May 30.
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