田口るり子

RURIKO TAGUCHI

Humans constantly engage with the objects before them using senses beyond physical vision. When you feel like you can open up your heart to this person, but you can't to that person, or you like this one but don't like that one, and also when you make a decision on which apple to pick among many ones, you keep your "senses" active full-time, despite not being able to explain what they are clearly. Every time I work on portrait photo shooting, visual factors capture my mind instantly, such as the person's height, weight, gender, and age. And then, as I eliminate them one by one, the "existence" itself becomes visible before me. Rather than just seeing it, I start to "sense" it. Then, the model also starts to feel my existence as the same as me, and our exchange of gazes creates the state in which I don't know whether I am looking at or looked at. Now, the person and I will merge. There are no boundaries anymore. I love that moment. I take photos because I want to see such existences. I open my eyes and will become you. You also open your eyes to become me.