shashasha

Following his former photobook entitled 'Slash' (2010) for which Google Street View shots were used to form, as a whole, a road-movie-like sequence, Nomura has again employed the same method in capturing images. Yet for this newer series he has superimposed human-scale Exdora silhouettes upon Google Street View shots. The Exdoras, quite sporadically, pop up at a construction site, among crowds outside a clothing outlet store, or the entrance of a love hotel. In doing so, Exdoras transform the meaning attached to the space, which belongs to contemporary Japan.
'Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a strange creature called Exdora. He often transformed. Sometimes he looked like a dog. Sometimes he looked like a bear. He changed his shape depending on a person who saw him. And whatever it was, he always looked awkward. Exdora could freely come in and out of people's dreams. He sneaked in and left his stuff there. Then, he got angry and asked them to return it. But they couldn't, as they didn't know where he lived and how he looked because he changed all the time. He came back when they've almost forgotten about him. He got angry and said, "I was waiting for you in the vacant land." One day, his eyes, nose and mouth have left him and gone somewhere. Afterwards, his body has also left him. And only thing that remained was his shadow.'
Text written by Hiroshi Nomura, complied in the photobook.