白 | SHIRO – English

Interview

Where did you get the idea to create an album?

I had an idea what was close to my heart, and it turned up more and more often –it was a book, an artistic album which collects, recaps and unites our series made in Japan. I was waiting for long to make it, because I didn’t want to snap it up. My vision about the book was pretty clear: I wanted it to remain in the background, emphasize the mood of the photos, give respect and enough space to the pictures, and not just store but also represent the material- I wanted a book what tells stories with pictures.

What was the inspiration?

Obviously the masters of Suibokuga, the Japanese ink drawing: Sesshū Tōyō, Tenshō Shūbun, the Kanō school and Miyamoto Musashi. Sesshū’s poetic scrolls with abstract landscapes or Musashi’s bird drawings, like the Koboku Meikakuzu (Shrike on a Dead Tree) or the Rozanzu (Wild Geese Among Reeds) – he worked with very few lines. They are different, but both paintings are really strong, tense compositions. I was caught by the simple and strict compositions, by the arches of the lines and by the perfect scales.

Did you study this somewhere?

I’ve been learning art history for a while, and I spent a lot of time discovering

Japanese culture even before my first trip. I read literature, history, art books, I visited exhibitions – I tried to imbibe as many knowledges as I can. As I got closer to my photographed topics, my interest concentrated in Sumie and Suibokuga. The animals represented in this book gave a lot of inspiration to the masters of this period through religion, folklore and believes.

Do you speak Japanese?

Chotto – a bit. They can sell me easily, but I can make the first steps to dissolve the embarrassment of Japanese people towards „Western Aliens”. This is important when you are visiting such a different culture.

What does the drawing symbolize on the cover of the book?

That is the title! A Sōsho, a cursive style calligraphy – the artistic interpretation of the 白, Shiro kanji. The reader can understand the meaning of it when opens the album.

What does Shiro mean?

Shiro – or White – is the guiding line passing through this book. It enhances a thesis of classical Eastern arts that says the empty space, the white of the paper is equal with the topic of the composition. In some schools it is even more important. Because the paper was there first: it creates space for art. It hugs art. It shows the piece to the viewer. That’s how they transform each other, but they can’t exist without the other one.

And what is this red drawing on the back of it?

It’s a Hanko – it is a stain. This is the signature of the artist on Japanese artworks, and they also identify themselves with a Hanko in a bank. This is an ornate, Insōtai styled version – and it says Picture of Gábor.

What do we see in the album, and how was it made?

Althought it was unexpressed, these photos were taken almost from the beginning to be part of Shiro one day. It was still an interesting journey to scroll through the photo material of the last 8 years. I was strict – I selected 75 photos for 180 pages. These are not classical landscapes or nature photos, they are mostly impressions, sensations, symbols, stories – and they are connected to Japanese culture in a tighter or looser way.

The book contains few texts and short stories next to the photos, mainly to divide the book and give a certain rhythm to the stream of pictures – but you can read them in two languages. The elegant lines of Japanese writing are emphasizing the atmosphere of the pictures, constantly reminding us about where are we traveling…