Pendant 1957-2018

Suilen Higashino

Suilen Higashino01

東野翠れん在14歲開始拍照。光在她的眼睛裡,意識很強,存在很強烈。

她過往的幾本攝影集都有不同主題,但感覺光才是她一直在抓的東西,看過就忘不了她鏡頭下光的質感。《Pendant 1957-2018》是在兩年間拍攝的生活日常,間插著數年前於祖父遺物裡發現的舊照。越過半世紀的時間銀河來到她手中,竟發現自己拍的跟祖父拍的照片常有相似感覺。

Pendant,在法語裡意味著「在…之間」。

Suilen Higashino started doing photography as early as at the age of 14. She has a pair of eyes that are particularly sensitive to light.

She has published a few photobooks of various themes, but lights seem to be, after all, the theme that means the most to her. The composition of light under her lens can always leave a strong impression on the viewers. Pendant 1957-2018 is a collection of photos documenting her daily life over two years, with a random mix of some old photos she found when going through the possessions of her late grandfather. These photos were taken by her grandfather over half a century ago. To her delightful surprise, Higashino found a resemblance between her own photography and her grandfather’s.

Pendant means “during” in French.

東野在以色列出生,母親在那裡長大,父親則是在日本出生成長,無論文化背景還是看待事情的眼光,都是從兩個極端裡混和產生。四年前祖父離世,東野回到了以色列祖父家,發現很多箱子都分門別類標記著存放的物品,祖父似乎是個善於整理的人吧。在一個Kodak老箱子裡,全是祖父拍的照片,最早的來自60年前。「當看到這些照片與筆記,即使以前不太了解祖父,卻覺得他跟現在的我連在一起了。」祖父生於戰爭時代,那個時代的痛苦、歷史的重量與個人傷口在這箱照片裡雖然未必可見,但祖父的意識卻在東野面前一點一點重建起來。

「所以當我想到正在拍攝的,會是未來的一張照片。為了紀念這個世界是什麼模樣,我今天正在拍照,拍下今天活著的每一刻,平靜的、光明的、我現在能看到的時刻是怎樣的。」她拍的,可能是地球上任何一個地方都能看到的日常,陽光、陽光下的橄欖樹、從枝椏隙縫裡透出來的光線。「我的照片沒有描述性,但我想讓人看到多一點什麼,譬如存在著。」

在拍攝這本書的中途她的孩子出生了。「突然一種無法用言語去交流的情況出現了,『你在想什麼』『為什麼會哭呢?』當兩雙眼睛相對的時候,只有跟隨直覺才能『說話』啊。」然後事情又再這樣連在一起了。

Higashino was born in Israel, where her mother was raised. Her father was, on the other hand, born and raised in Japan. As a result of her mixed background, Higashino has a hybrid cultural identity and has a fluid way of seeing things. Four years ago, she returned to Israel to her grandfather’s home when he passed away. There she found boxes of items that were labeled carefully. She then realized how organized her grandfather was. In an old Kodak box, she discovered a pile of photos taken by her grandfather, some were even taken over 60 years ago. “Looking at these images, I felt very much connected to him, although we were not that close when he was alive.” Her grandfather was born during wartime; the pain, the weight of history, and the trauma might not be so obviously shown in his photography, but Higashino could somehow begin to sense his life and memory by seeing these photo documentation.

“This reminds me of how a photo I shot today actually belongs to the people in the future. I am documenting the world of this precise moment to leave a memory for the future. I photograph every little moment of my life; all I am doing is to keep a record of the calm and bright moment that I witness every day.” Images in her photography are things that can be easily seen in any parts of the world, for instance, sunshine, an olive tree in a bright sunny day, or some light seeping through tree branches. “My photography is non-descriptive, but I would like to show to my viewers that there are a lot more to be seen, such as the meaning of existence.”

Her child was born when she was making photography for this book, “This abruptly placed me in a world of non-verbal communication. ‘What is on your mind?’ ‘Why are you crying?’ When our eyes meet, I finally got to know that natural instinct is the way we both rely on to talk with each other.” This moment ended up connecting back to all the earlier moments.

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