あずりピン•ホール // pin•whole

2019

 

In the Hokkaido dialect the word azuru / あずる implies the notion of a struggle. The title alludes to the improvisational nature of resourcefully crafting cameras that did not always yield the desired result; as well as the creation of itinerant darkrooms that were a vital part of the project experience.

The photographs were made in the Tokachi Region of Hokkaido, Japan during a residency exchange between Asian Improv aRts Midwest and the Tokachi International Cultural Exchange Center as part of their project Chicago Obihiro Exchange Project.  Focusing on local community members, pinhole cameras were made from materials and objects available in the subjects' workspace and photographed with on-site. Two itinerant darkrooms were made by Aoki for the duration of the residency: the first in a resort cabin, the second inside the old workspace of local Tokachi ramen resturaunt, Hananoya (花のや).

For more information of the darkrooms and residency visit: https://chicagobihiro.org/about2019/obihiro/
 

Sponsored in part by Asian Improv aRts Midwest and the Tokachi International Cultural Exchange Center as part of the Chicago Obihiro Exchange Project, initiated to cultivate international dialogue between contemporary artists from Japan and Chicago.

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