I have paid attention for a long time to
the reduced models while taking pinhole photography, because I have been
searching for "what nothing but pinhole can do". I started shooting
a French miniature park in 1995 and I made a show four years ago. Then,
why am I interested in reduced models ? Because they seem to me perfect
subjects for conveying fully the charms of pinhole photography.
Last year I met the amazing works of Hiroshi
Miura* and I decided to tackle again with another reduced world : miniatures
models. What is more this time, thanks to him, I could take pictures inside
of his works. Microcosm of Miura, where the settings of Ichiyo Higuchi*'s
novels and the time and space of lost Meiji era come back to life with
skillful crafts and rich imaginations. You can see elaborate houses and
their fittings made on a scale of one to twenty and the light and shadow
cast on them locking up Ichiyo's life and the breathing of women in Meiji.
The works of Hiroshi Miura themselves are of three
dimensional art. However, the more I knew his love for wood and his profound
admiration for Ichiyo, the more I was tempted by the idea of seeing them
converted into life-size scale of two dimensions. In order to realize this
it was indispensable to use the infinite depth of field and the soft-focused
image of pinhole photography together with the small tin can camera which
enabled me to penetrate into the small rooms.
I will be pleased if you feel more closely
the world of Ichiyo by the hands of Hiroshi Miura through my pinhole photographs
"I want to meet Ichiyo".
Mieko
Tadokoro
Ichiyo Higuchi (1872-1896):
Woman novelist in Meiji era. Most of her best novels were written during
her last
fourteen months. The figure of Japanese bill of Five thousand yen.
Hiroshi Miura (1926- ):
The third generation of the family of craftsmanship of hinoki, Japanese
cypress.
Known as master's name "Gyokushu". Many miniature models of houses
(Nagaya and Yoshiwara) of Edo era besides Ichiyo Higuchi's world.
Pinhole Photographs of Mieko Tadokoro
I Want to Meet Ichiyo
Microcosm of Hiroshi Miura |
 |
| May 2nd to 29, 2007） |
| Pola Museum Annex Ginza |
| |
