FLOATING WEEDS

2009 was the first year I used my camera to give voice to my fascination with Japan and its people. It started in Kamagasaki, Nishinari Ward, Osaka. My journey of discovery took me all over Japan, from forlorn urban neighborhoods to communities of profound suffering following the Great Tohoku Earthquake of 2011, to remote mountain villages, where elders are left to fend for themselves, to magical Shoboji Temple in Iwate Prefecture.

The title of this series is named after Yasujiro Ozu’s film Floating Weeds. The name is inspired by plants that float on the surface of the water without ever being rooted to the bottom. Literally, Floating Weeds is a Japanese term for itinerant actors. However, to me it speaks to the essence of my experience while travelling through Japan: rootless and windblown, driving mile after mile in my car.

The pictures reflect the many small facets I found on my journey. This work is an homage to the intrinsic beauty and colors of Japan, small windows to a place that has long captured my heart and imagination.