Yoshi Kametani - Sumimasen - 2014

Sumimasen

Yoshi Kametani
Editions du LIC/2014/Japanese,English/180*240*15

This book is a collection of photographs by the New York-based art duo IPG Project, Yoshi Kametani and Tamara, entitled ‘Sumimasen’. The word ‘sumimasen’ is a complicated word that encompasses a variety of meanings unique to the Japanese language, and is also used as a word of ‘thanks’ and sometimes as an ‘apology’. It can also be used in a ‘tatemae’ way, sometimes meaning ‘true intentions’, and depending on the nuance, can confuse people from different countries. The two names describe the two sides of people's true and false feelings, front and back, by comparing them to the two sides of ‘privacy’ and ‘identity’, and use Mayura, a pornographic actress, as a model, with a surveillance camera in her room and a mask on her face to show the boundaries of privacy and her own identity. What is her identity? What is her impression through the mask? This is a significant collection that asks a variety of questions, but ultimately asks that the biggest problem is the ‘mask’ of thought that the reader has, such as prejudiced views. 460 copies limited.