伊藤 妹

MAI ITO

Sometimes, the world feels terribly unstable and unreliable.

In moments when even my own existence seems uncertain, I've thought about what I can do. I've decided to cherish the people within my reach—at least those I can touch. A single person can only embrace a limited number of people in their arms, but for now, I want to confirm the warmth that emerges between myself and the person standing before me. That was my motivation for starting this series.

At first, I wanted to "comfort viewers" through this work. However, I discovered something called the "cycle of healing"—embracing others also restores my own mind and body. Emotions that words cannot fully express circulate through the body heat shared between myself and the other person, lightening both our hearts. When we part, we can smile and say "see you again." The act of embracing is like a small magic that lets us put down some of our emotional burdens, even if just for a moment.

Facing another person naked requires the courage to remove the armor called clothing and confront them with a bare heart. The initial tension gradually dissolves. Our breathing calms down, and the stiffness in our bodies slowly eases. As the outlines of our bodies blend together and body heat flows between us, cold limbs are warmed. This heat settles our spirits and guides us to "just the right temperature." The breathing and heartbeat I feel from the other person at that moment are honest, fragile, and beautiful—they are the person themselves. There is a power there that is straightforward and impossible to fake.

I deeply wish to capture such warmth and rhythms in the form of photographs—the shifting outlines, the ambiguous light, the warmth touching the skin. I want to preserve here the warmth that might disappear in our changing daily lives. I hope that new warmth will sprout in the hearts of those who view this work.