shashasha

“I witnessed the parent swallows in their silent, dutiful pursuit of acquiring food for their young. The sight gave me a new, simplified perspective — it made me think that merely being able to feed your child is fulfilling a vital role as a parent. I felt encouraged, and my emotions, closed and shut in, seemed to find release.”
― Rinko Kawauchi

Rinko Kawauchi began shooting her entry into Éditions Xavier Barral’s “Des Oiseaux” series in Spring, focusing her sights on a nest of swallows found near her home, documenting the parent swallows as they raise their young.
The nest in the eaves. The parents arriving and leaving, always in search of sustenance. The chicks awaiting them, their beaks wide open. Buds slowly forming on the tips of branches. The sun sparkling in the sky. Nature awakening.

Through her photographs, Kawauchi appears a still observer to the ceaseless cycle of life – persisting on no matter what the circumstance – and the primal power at work there. We, her viewers, live in the time of COVID-19; we face days of uncertainty, forced to deal with all manner of restriction. In her photographs, however, we find a moment of fresh air and awaken to new courage.

In addition to Rinko Kawauchi’s photographs, the book also includes an essay by ornithologist Guilhem Lesaffe.

Please note that all texts in this Japanese edition are in Japanese language only.