An Insider's View - Limited Edition of 20 Print

This image is a part of the exhibition 'Master, An Ainu Story', which was shown in May 2019 at The ICP Museum in New York and previously at The Brunei Gallery, SOAS and Sway Gallery, London & Stockholm. It tells the story of Kenji Matsuda - known as “Master” (which roughly translates to “boss” in English) to his family, colleagues and patrons. He has grown up sandwiched between two generations of Ainu (an indigenous people of Japan) which have very different attitudes towards their heritage. While his grandparent’s generation encouraged their children and grandchildren to assimilate for fear of discrimination, recent generations have started to demand recognition of their indigenous status, which was finally given in February 2019. This photograph was taken from the 3rd floor bedroom that I stayed in, in Matsuda san's house. It is the first building in the Ainu Kotan (village) and a place where I spent many an evening listening to the sounds of the village and the coming and goings in Banya - Matsuda san's restaurant on the first floor. The image represents feelings of being behind a wall of glass, peering into a culture. There was always something being obscured for one reason or another, much like the mist on a window, and also things that I couldn't quite see. Not being part of a culture means one is limited to what they are able to see and much like a photograph, there will always be some information missing and sometimes you will just be shown what someone else wants you to see. The original artwork is is signed and numbered on the back. Printed on Giclee Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper, which gives it a textured almost hand drawn feel.