honorable mention
Kiriko Shirobayashi united states
title
rumination
Rumination is the process of mulling the same thing over and over again. It is the slow process of making something clear.
As a child, if something bothered me, I would draw it and then erase it. It was my way of working things out, my way of ruminating on something until it was resolved.
I have been photographing chalkboards. It enthralls me to know this erasable object has had many people’s thoughts and ideas on it. Sometimes you can still make out some faded words and letters. I wrote and drew anything that came to my mind on these chalkboards, and then erased them just as I did as a child.
Last winter I traveled to the place where my father grew up. I had many chances to photograph the area, but I was not ready. The landscape carried many poignant memories. More recently, visiting with my family and gazing at the view, I found I was ready. The unchanging scenery, with its memories, both sad and sweet, did not intimidate me as it had before.
These emotional landscapes that carry my and other’s personal histories, and these chalkboards, represent this process. These are my ruminations.
I have been exhibiting my work in the U.S. and abroad including Allentown Art Museum, The Center for Photography at Woodstock, The Houston Center for Photography, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Allentown Art Museum, Onoma Center (Finland), the 5th Pingyao International Festival (Shaanxi China) and The National Museum of Belarus (Belarus).
I have received awards from GEN ART, and LMCC and has completed residencies at the MacDowell Colony (NH, U.S.A.) Art Farm (NE, U.S.A.), Kala Art Institute (CA, U.S.A.), Headlands Center for the Arts, (CA, U.S.A.), and Santa Fe Art Institute (NM, U.S.A.). Images from the series “Lines” were selected for Photography 21.
I published my first photography book with Nazraeili Press and Tousei in 2010. Along with publication I had photography shows in Tokyo, and Osaka in 2010 and 2014. I have been showing my handmade books events in New York and Berlin in 2015,
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entry description
RuminationsRumination is the process of mulling the same thing over and over again. It is the slow process of making something clear.
As a child, if something bothered me, I would draw it and then erase it. It was my way of working things out, my way of ruminating on something until it was resolved.
I have been photographing chalkboards. It enthralls me to know this erasable object has had many people’s thoughts and ideas on it. Sometimes you can still make out some faded words and letters. I wrote and drew anything that came to my mind on these chalkboards, and then erased them just as I did as a child.
Last winter I traveled to the place where my father grew up. I had many chances to photograph the area, but I was not ready. The landscape carried many poignant memories. More recently, visiting with my family and gazing at the view, I found I was ready. The unchanging scenery, with its memories, both sad and sweet, did not intimidate me as it had before.
These emotional landscapes that carry my and other’s personal histories, and these chalkboards, represent this process. These are my ruminations.
about the photographer
I was born and raised in Osaka, Japan. After graduating with a BFA in Photography at Osaka University of Arts she moved to the United States, going on to graduate from the School of Visual Arts with a MFA in Photography and Related Media. I had since lived and worked in New York and Hong Kong.I have been exhibiting my work in the U.S. and abroad including Allentown Art Museum, The Center for Photography at Woodstock, The Houston Center for Photography, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Allentown Art Museum, Onoma Center (Finland), the 5th Pingyao International Festival (Shaanxi China) and The National Museum of Belarus (Belarus).
I have received awards from GEN ART, and LMCC and has completed residencies at the MacDowell Colony (NH, U.S.A.) Art Farm (NE, U.S.A.), Kala Art Institute (CA, U.S.A.), Headlands Center for the Arts, (CA, U.S.A.), and Santa Fe Art Institute (NM, U.S.A.). Images from the series “Lines” were selected for Photography 21.
I published my first photography book with Nazraeili Press and Tousei in 2010. Along with publication I had photography shows in Tokyo, and Osaka in 2010 and 2014. I have been showing my handmade books events in New York and Berlin in 2015,
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