Kyoko Maruyama
©︎Kyoko Maruyama
Heartland project
-AWA-
I take photographs with the theme of the relationship between people and the land.
The photographs show people who live in Awa region in Chiba near Tokyo bayside.
I am taking photographs at south part of Awa district in Chiba since 2009. (Boso Peninsula N35E140)
The place is located near from Tokyo and is blessed with a richness of nature. I
t is a warm region where the first spring comes after winter in Honshu.
The inhabitants ran their lives by the blessing of the sea and the mountain through the ages. They thank God of the mountain and God of the sea.
You can understand that from the way they have serious attitude on festivals.
They grow up there and die there. There are calm lives of feeling proud of ancestors, respecting elderly people, and taking a good care of children.
However,
in recent years, it has been a problem where to discard the contaminated soils.
In the middle of beautiful nature, increased suppliers dig a big hole, and bury them. Inhabitants do not know what is hidden now in the soil.
The pollutants flow to the rich sea by the law of nature. And as usual,the inhabitants, whether knowingly about the circumstances of such soil or not, go to the shellfish gathering, and take the clams and shellfish to their home.
Some of the inhabitants has been confronting the problem. But the government is promoting its processing. Depopulation is progressing in the town, and young people are few. Because of the connection of traditional inhabitants, there is also a system that can’t join the opposition movement. They are never happy about it, but there are also no choice but to accept the situation.
The children do not know this sad battle of such adults.
Therefore I continue taking photographs today
They say that a heavy industrial machine goes in and out of the south mountain
again today.
Kyoko Maruyama
Born in Fukushima Japan.
Seven years ago, I started to grow an interest in photographic expression that led to study and master the basic of photography, first from darkroom work, at the workshop held by Satoru Watanabe.
Subsequently, to become a photographer, I joined the workshop held by Osamu Moriya.
And I learned the way of a silver-salt print from Noriko Kaneko and started photography six years ago in full earnest.
And,
Marc Prust(photography consultant and curator),
Erik Vroons(GUP magazine).
Satoru Watanabe（Photographer）
I learned the following things from them.
How to develop and shape my ‘signature’ as a photographer by awareness of conceptual thinking,
How to reflect on and to communicate a work in progress both visually and in written word; building and layering a story by editing.
Solo Exhibition
2010 GALLERY MONTH OF 26TH 「With Natural Grace」
Grope Exhibition
2009 GALLERY LE DECO 『25, VINGT-CINQ』
2010 MUSEUM OF ART,KAWASAKI 『SILVER-SALT』
ICHYS GALLERY "M's7"
2011 GALLERY EM NISHIAZABU 「SOMEWHERE, NOWHERE」
GALLERY COSMOS 「 NO PRINT, NO LIFE 」
GALLERY LE DECO 『2B25』
2012 GALLERY MOTOAZABU 『TOKYO8Z10 VOL 3』
2013 MEGURO MUSEUM OF ART 『TOKYO8Z10 VOL4』
2014 PULSE GALLERY 「EACH TIME VOL,1」
MEGURO MUSEUM OF ART 『TOKYO8Z10 VOL5』
2015 GALLERY NIW 「EACH TIME VOL,2」
MEGURO MUSEUM OF ART 『TOKYO8Z10 VOL6』
GALLERY NIW 『HEXAGONAL PATTERN & ANTAGONISM』
Style of the print
Silversalt print of the glass barium photographic paper
WEB
http://moe5625952.wix.com/kyoukom
http://imaonline.jp/library/photographers/50a5e78a6a8d1e1507000877/
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