Rinko Kawauchi - M/E
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1 rue des Minimes
09709759181 Rue des Minimes
75003 Paris
France
Rinko Kawauchi
ME
Published by Delpire, 2025
Co-published with Torch Press (Japanese/English version)
First edition
Size: 28.5 x 22 cm
216 pages
Hardcover
Languages: French, English
Bee and the Gods
“Bee in the heart of flowers
Flowers in the gardens
Gardens surrounded by earth walls
Walls in the villages
Villages in the heart of Japan
Japan in the world
World within the gods
Then, then… the gods
“In the heart of the fragile bees”
— Misuzu Kaneko
This poem by Misuzu Kaneko, a Japanese poet from the early 20th century This unjustly forgotten century, rediscovered by the Japanese public at the time of the Fukushima disaster (her poems were read on television), inspired Rinko Kawauchi to write this new book. Paying homage to this author, the photographer explores our relationship with the world, encouraging us to reconsider our connections as human beings with nature.
Rinko Kawauchi named her book ME in reference to Mother/Earth but only kept the initials ( me in English) to emphasize the connection she has with Mother Earth. She casts her singular gaze, imbued with gentleness, on the living world to capture its fragile beauty: that of a drop of dew on a leaf or the gigantic front of a glacier in front of which levitates the white halo of a cloud of vapor caused by the collapse of the ice into the sea. The artist's approach is highly intuitive; her images are not constructed; they simply "arrive." The result: almost meditative images, as if from a dream. They can be poetic, mysterious, even bizarre. Moreover, they are not perfectly clear. Rinko Kawauchi seeks the ephemeral; she captures that fleeting moment that precedes the eye's accommodation.
The artist captures both her immediate environment and her family as well as more spectacular subjects. In this book, she offers a dialogue between images of Iceland and Japan, mainly around water: clouds, rain, rainbows, ice, snow, torrents, mist… The work is constructed by playing with the idea of transparency that is dear to her. The images are printed on very fine Japanese paper and are gradually revealed. Blank pages, like silences, punctuate the sequences. The cover, meanwhile, is splashed with silver shards that reflect the light.