honorable mention
Masumi Shiohara japan
title
Farmer's Improvisation :As a fruit farmer and breeder
In Japan, fruit is often treated as a gift or luxury item, with high quality and high added value. This is partly due to the small area of farmland per farmer. This is partly due to the small area of farmland per farmer, which means that farmers have to devote a lot of labor to each fruit. The cultivation of high quality varieties also requires a great deal of skill.
In addition, national and local agricultural agencies and individual breeders are developing new varieties with various goals such as high sugar content, large fruit size, and environmental resistance.(Some of the best and highest quality fruit varieties are therefore often illegally exported. Some varieties are even propagated there and distributed as exports.)
These are improvisations by me, a breeder, farmer, and photographer.
While growing fruit here, he became interested in creating photographic works of art about 20 years ago, and taught himself the technique. He was asked by a botanical artist to provide the fruit on a branch, and since then he has been creating photographic artworks of fruit on branches. The "botanical art-like white background pieces" are printed on real parchment vellum, while the "black background pieces" are printed on glossy paper. At the same time, with the theme of the importance and value of food, my works focus on the growth of fruits throughout the year and the documentation of nameless fruits that have been omitted in fruit breeding and object creation.
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entry description
This series was conceived by me as a fruit farmer, breeder, and photographer. The reason why I made this is just an improvisation that I want to do something different in my daily farming work. This is a delicate work that requires the experience and intuition of a farmer. I think it was because I wanted to make grapes that were impossible to breed as a breeder. I wanted to have a dialogue with a fruit as a person. I also wanted to create a simple object using fruit.In Japan, fruit is often treated as a gift or luxury item, with high quality and high added value. This is partly due to the small area of farmland per farmer. This is partly due to the small area of farmland per farmer, which means that farmers have to devote a lot of labor to each fruit. The cultivation of high quality varieties also requires a great deal of skill.
In addition, national and local agricultural agencies and individual breeders are developing new varieties with various goals such as high sugar content, large fruit size, and environmental resistance.(Some of the best and highest quality fruit varieties are therefore often illegally exported. Some varieties are even propagated there and distributed as exports.)
These are improvisations by me, a breeder, farmer, and photographer.
about the photographer
Masumi Shiohara was born in Nagano Prefecture in 1974. He worked as a development engineer at a microfabrication manufacturer. After leaving the company, he took over his family's orchard from his parents, and is now running the farm. He is also involved in breeding and has developed a number of varieties.While growing fruit here, he became interested in creating photographic works of art about 20 years ago, and taught himself the technique. He was asked by a botanical artist to provide the fruit on a branch, and since then he has been creating photographic artworks of fruit on branches. The "botanical art-like white background pieces" are printed on real parchment vellum, while the "black background pieces" are printed on glossy paper. At the same time, with the theme of the importance and value of food, my works focus on the growth of fruits throughout the year and the documentation of nameless fruits that have been omitted in fruit breeding and object creation.
back to gallery