After the photo exhibition

Before I have time to look back on the 7th anniversary of Utsushiki's exhibition, I am spending my days grateful to be able to continue working on the tasks that lie in front of me.

Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who came to see Utsushiki's 7th anniversary exhibition "Utsuroi" and to those who sent their thoughts from afar. Thank you very much.

To say I am overwhelmed with emotion may sound like an exaggeration, but as this was my first photo exhibition, I was deeply moved to be able to hold this exhibition at this important milestone of Utsushiki's seventh anniversary. I will never forget the day when I saw all my works lined up in the Utsushiki space and felt a quiet shiver in my heart.

It's been three years since I started working closely with Utsushiki.

I kept getting thrown off but managed to hang on somehow.

There is no end to the things that have happened up until now. There are also many things that I cannot remember.

Still, it was a big decision for me to present this work on the theme of "Change," which was derived from the accumulation of memories and sensations over the past three years, in Utsushiki.

I took the plunge and decided to embark on this journey, hoping to find a final answer as I continued filming. At first, I was feeling anxious and complained a lot, but in the end, I was able to find an answer that I was satisfied with, and that has been a great benefit to me going forward.

Just as this exhibition represents a moment in time for me, this moment will also gradually change.

Unlike the three families I visited for this shoot in Wakayama, Kyoto, and Nagano, I don't want to seek change, but rather I want to live in the present as I please.

Now, on a different note, Mark, aka Masayoshi Touto, will be holding his first solo exhibition of baskets made from bamboo and bark at Utsushiki on Saturday, October 22nd. Prior to the exhibition, I visited Nagano to interview Mark.

I feel love from Mark every time I meet him. I feel a deep and gentle love in the way he approaches craftsmanship, his relationship with nature, and the time he spends with his family.

When I first saw the baskets that Mark made, I was completely captivated.

His works made from bamboo and bark exude an overwhelming presence just by being there, without saying anything, and it is easy to imagine all sorts of stories from them.

I've been busy editing the footage from my visit to Nagano.

We talked a lot during my stay, so I'm struggling to figure out how to summarize it all.

We will do our best to deliver it to you in the best possible way, so please look forward to it.

Yudai Oda