Canon global

As a photographer, Patrick Tsai has gained prominent attention overseas, particularly as a shortlisted photographer at the Hyères International Festival of Fashion & Photography. But, has the focus of his work changed now that he has shifted his base to Japan?

Photographing at the eye level of animals

-“God Only Knows,” the collection you entered for this competition is very polished. The aesthetics are completely different from your previous work of people in urban settings. Why did you set your sights on farm animals?

I participated in the “Spectacle In The Farm 2010” art event, which was held in Nasu Kogen last November, with a group called Hajimeten created by seven people, including four photographers, a contemporary artist, and a painter. While recording Nasu for the event, we went to the Nasu Animal Kingdom. There, I walked off by myself a little ways and I met this white horse. I was inspired by the horse’s ghost-like eyes, so I went back in the winter to take this collection of photos.

-Your close-up technique and the way you captured the animals in motion creates a peculiar impression.

I wanted to photograph the animals in a way that was different from the usual way animals are photographed. I also wanted to get the feel of a painting by showing only a part of an animal or depicting it in a way that you can’t grasp immediately what it is. I was conscious of a world of only animals without any human presence.
I used a compact camera instead of a large camera like an SLR with a tripod. I wanted to build an intimate relationship by getting close to the subjects. I wanted to take photographs from the animals’eye level.

I want to be recognized as a photographer in Japan

-You have a track record as a photographer in your country—the U.S.—and in China, where you lived before coming to Japan. Why did you decide to enter the New Cosmos of Photography?

I got to know Kayo Ume before I came to Japan, and I heard from her that New Cosmos of Photography is a famous photo competition in Japan. Because I’m unknown in Japan, I wanted to win this competition to become known.

-Do you like Kayo Ume’s work?

I’ve seen her “Danshi” [Boys] exhibition and her “Umeme” collection. I first looked at them and thought they were cute, but I slowly realized this person is a genius, not because she has studied technique but because I understood she could build her own world by taking these photos in a totally natural way.

-How did you see Japanese photography?

When I was a student at New York University, seeing Hiromix’s photo collection put out by a German publisher was a turning point for me. European photography is conceptual, but Hiromix’s works were straightforward snapshots. Though I studied film at university, I was tired of film because it involves so many people and takes so much money. After university, I moved to Taiwan and started photography. I liked it because it’s fast to produce and you can do it on your own.

-Why did you move from America to Taiwan and China?

I had studied in Japan before, and I was thinking of going to either Japan or Taiwan. I chose Taiwan because I had relatives there and the community is small, so I felt more at ease. I went to China after that, but even there, I was most interested in Japanese culture. Art is really popular in China, and the pace of fame is extremely fast, so even my recognition level went up after just two years of living there. I think the standard of art in Japan is high, so I came to give it my best shot here, where the standards are high, even though it meant starting from rock bottom.

-Your photo diary “My Little Dead Dick” was a success in China. Was that a big accomplishment for you?

It’s been the biggest accomplishment for me to date, but the work ended when my partner, who I made the photos with, and I parted ways. I was at a loss about what to do after that, and I felt burnt out. My slump continued for a number of years after I came to Japan and I even considered quitting photography. In the middle of that, the Nasu project came up and it restored my confidence.

-Your current work of photos and text that you are developing as a blog has an interesting title: “Talking Barnacles.”

I started this project after the 3/11 earthquake, and I feel it’s my best work. It’s a combination of snaps of the street where I live and a diary. I gave it that title with the sense that doing something incredibly small like barnacles is more important than talking about something big. The earthquake was widely covered in the overseas media, but I had no idea what was happening at the site. Instead, I totally understood the slight intuition that my roommate seemed to have about the earthquake. Because of this I used this title to give a sense of how important it is to shoot the small things around us. By continuing this series, I’ve started doing things I’d never done before, like shooting long continuous sequences and writing text. I hope, sooner or later, to compile “God Only Knows” and this into a book.