In 1972, Rinko Kawauchi was born in Shiga, Japan. She started her career as freelance photographer in 1993 after she graduated from Seian University of Art and Design. However, it was not until 2001, when she simultaneously published three photo books (Utatane, Hanabi & Hanako), that she became an instant hit in Japan.
One of the things that immediately comes across is the fragility in her use of color. The resulting intimacy and mood have the same delicate feel. Her series Aila (after the Turkish aile – family) illustrates birth, life, death and time. The series as a whole presents a depiction of temporality with fitting nuance.
Also Kawauchi’s most personal series, Cui Cui, shows temporality. In a period of 13 years she photographed her grandparents and gives a wonderful view in the beauty of the ordinary.
Cui Cui is a journal of empathy and openness that captures the gradual deterioration of health and passing of her grandfather with great attention to Kawauchi’s surroundings. As a result, images of seemingly trivial details get a duplicity that shows an almost philosophical acumen by the distinct use of color.
Kawauchi takes photography to the gist of the moment. The veracious observations are soft, beautiful and discreet as the silent moments of a fragile narrative.
Photographs copyright Rinko Kawauchi. The author of this article has earlier published it in an altered form on TrouwAmsterdam blog. copypasteculture.
