Book Maquettes
In my universe, the book remains the definitive form for completed photographic work. Below are book maquettes I’ve created over the years.
I have changed my process and now focus on Folio Editions for my book-making and sequencing studies.
2021
Catch-32
Catch-32 is my exploration of the often misunderstood boundary between loneliness and solitude. This journey began after the abrupt end of a decade-long relationship. For months, the weight of loneliness was tangible—cold, heavy, and isolating. But as time passed, something unexpected happened.
I found myself enjoying the quiet moments. I started to get lost in my thoughts, embracing this state. This new sensation felt warm and inviting, a kind of stillness where I could reconnect with myself. I began to understand that solitude, unlike loneliness, is not something to fear but something to savor. Where loneliness felt like a void, solitude became a refuge—a state of quiet joy.
Through this work, I examine these seemingly intertwined states, their differences, and how one can be embraced while the other calls for healing.
Edition of one.
Someone at the Door
Doorbells used to be simple things. Push the button; the spring behind the plastic compresses; two wires touch—ding-dong!
My Tokyo apartment has a doorbell lifted from sci-fi manga of the 90s. White plastic. Clacky buttons. Tacky blue LED. Surprisingly large screen for something that has ice-cube-sized pixels. Gadgets like this at home are ubiquitous in Japan, so I mostly ignored it. “Oh, I can see who’s ringing on the ground floor, neat,” I thought and forgot about it.
A few weeks ago, that garish blue LED refused to stop blinking. Nobody was ringing the bell. Being midnight, half-asleep, I accidentally fat-fingered the wrong button and discovered that my doorbell records and stores low-framerate videos of everyone who has ever pushed the button. The corner of the display had text familiar to any digital photographer: ‘1/53.’
During all those times, my doorbell has captured dozens of “portraits” of people. Mailmen, friends, stubborn television salesmen—all doing the same thing—ringing my bell.
Edition of one.
2020
The Place I Felt Alone
Photos of the place where I truly felt alone for the first time in my life.
One-of-a-kind. Handmade. All original instants.
2019
Tokyo on Wheels
I find bicycles to be fascinating and beautiful objects. This book contains bikes I saw while roaming the streets of Tokyo. Collected in a single zine-like book. Simple as that.
Edition of one.