Canon global

-Please tell me about how you created your prize-winning work.

I had already been taking photos of a dairy farming family in Hokkaido. Consequently, I gradually became interested in the presence of the cows. I wondered about a cow’s “life.” Because the cows always get taken away from the farm in trucks, I thought I should look into this.
I asked around, looking for a place that would accept my request to take photos. That’s when I came across a slaughterhouse in Chiba prefecture. At first I went there without thinking about what I would photograph. I photographed where the cows end up, the people that work there, and everything around the place. It was there that I realized that the lives and deaths of the cows have been mechanized. I went there 10 to 20 times while I thought about how I could put it all into photographs. The work I put together is the result of taking photos over a two-year period.

-What sort of objective did you have when you were putting the book together?

My main premise was that it could not be something that would just explain the situation. Each print had to be a good photograph by itself. I took special care with that. This series includes elements of a documentary, but I felt that it was not enough just to communicate the reality of what happens there. I wanted it to be effective as a photography work, and I wanted to show the movements of the people who worked there. I call this method the “New Documentary” way. Including the exhibition after winning the prize, I am not quite sure if I was able to fully express what I was thinking. I thought I had communicated the gap that coexists impassively between cruelty and normalcy, and at the open selection meeting someone voiced a doubt saying: “You can call this a normal place?” It is difficult to find the right form to express what you want to communicate.

-How many times did you enter the New Cosmos of Photography?

This is my second time. The last time I entered was in 2004. Looking back now, I think that how I presented my entry then was not very good. This time I had a vague sense of confidence. By winning I was given a place to be seen by various people, and I feel it was a really valuable experience to hear their opinions.

-When did you get into photography?

Well, when I was in elementary school, I did a book report on a photo book by Sebastião Salgado. Something I recently noticed was: “I really was great in elementary school” (laughs). Without a doubt, I really was interested in photos from a young age. But, I was always drawing pictures and it was not until art college that I really started photography. When I was a second-year student, I chose photography as my choice of career path. I did this because there were few students who took the photography course. It seemed that there would be a lot of time spent with the teachers and I thought that would be to my advantage. I thought that photography would be fun and it would open up new horizons. I have been doing photography continuously since then. I have been working on some video projects and I do not feel that there is a really big difference. I feel that creating something with photos and video is a similar sensation to playing music. You could say that each photo is like a musical note. A photo book or exhibition is similar to the work of collecting musical notes and putting together a piece of music. Recently, I have thought that although it is important to think carefully when you line up the notes to make a song, it is also important to polish each individual note. If the quality of “C” goes up, the quality of the entire song also increases. That is how I plan to make my next work.

-Please tell me which artist you like.

As I gave a music example, I would like to mention Glen Gould(*2). I often cry while listening to his music.

*1 : Sebastião Salgado
Brazilian photographer born in 1944. Since the 1970s he has been going to Africa and South America to photograph and to film documentaries. In 1984 he joined the international cooperative of photographers Magnum Photos. Among his photo books are “The Human Effort”, etc.

*2 : Glen Gould
Born in 1932, died in 1982. He was a Canadian pianist. He first performed professionally as a teenager, and soon became a world-renowned musician. With his unorthodox musical philosophy and eccentric technique he left behind many musical performances and recordings. He had a great deal of admiration for Bach.