-What made you enter New Cosmos of Photography?

I’ve already entered several times, and I got an honorable mention last year. I wanted to get a better result somehow, so I tried again this time. I was sure I would win a prize because I thought it was a better work than last time. While I was waiting for the announcement of the result, my mind was swinging between whether I would win or not.

-Your work has references to some photos by French photographer Eugene Atget. How did you produce it?

I made a diorama around one meter square and photographed it. First, I chose the most suitable piece among Atget’s photo works according to my vision. Looking at it, I made a wall of the building with concrete. When it was completed, I painted it white all over, and gave the second coat of a purplish red paint. I painted shadows with a dark color, and for a sunny spots, I scraped off the paint to show a whitish color. I used different colors for windows and other areas. It was finished in three or four days. I photographed it with a large camera.
Three years ago, I got the idea for the work, and it was one year ago that I began to produce the work after deciding on its final form. I like Atget’s works, but that does not necessarily mean that I pay homage to them. Houses and streets 100 years ago are recorded in his photos, and they are still famous. That happened to coincide with the idea for my work.

-You put in a lot of time and effort, didn’t you?

What I did was not that difficult. I’m not copying the photo that I used as a source, but am only using it as a reference. I don’t need to make my work look just like it. I know that even those who make their works from snapshots spend a lot of time and effort, patiently walking around. What you give priority to and what you spend most time on is slightly different, I think.

-When did you begin to take a photo?

I’ve always had a wish to make something. When I was around twenty, I was interested in photography, and entered a vocational school for photography. I also worked as a photographer’s assistant. I thought I had better start studying properly once again, so I went to study at the Pratt Institute, an art school in New York. I learned a lot there. I could absorb myself in art at museums and galleries. I could broaden my viewpoint to see things in the context of art as a whole, not limited to the framework of photography.

-What do you think of your experience of participating in the exhibition and the selection open-committee meeting?

It was not so difficult for me to give a presentation at the meeting, but I understand that it’s hard to put everything in words. If I explain too much, it seems that I’m making excuses. It is very useful to observe my work exhibited among others, because I can judge my work in relation to the other works. The point that I should reflect on in the future has been clarified. For now, I don’t plan to continue working on a series that references Atget. I’m thinking of a new work, and the exhibition and selection open-committee meeting provided me with a good opportunity to raise my motivation.

-Please tell me who your favorite artist is.

Vik Muniz(*) is an artist from Brazil. Based on a photo, he paints a picture using chocolate syrup or some other material, and takes a photo of it again. What is interesting is not his method but his work itself.

*Vik Muniz
Born in Brazil in 1961. He is known by works in which he repaints world masterpieces using chocolate syrup or sugar and takes their photos. He participates in many solo and group exhibitions at different places including the United States.