shashasha

What would old things tell us if only we could listen? What could we see in them if we took an honest look?

In “Existence,” Yasu Matsumoto regards various objects with the patience and care of a portrait photographer. Illuminated by soft studio light, the things – fossilized snails, an pair of scissors, measuring tape, a spanner – seem to float within darkness. What Matsumoto is after is not the mere visual beauty of his subjects but rather their invisible auras.
And indeed, reading through the book slowly, dwelling on the pages long enough for the character of each object to unfold, one notices hints of something existing in these objects, something that was cultivated through time and an accumulation of experience.

All texts included in Japanese and English translation.