Chikako Harada, who took most of the photographs of Fujio Ishimoto and Masaru Suzuki in this project, is a photographer in Helsinki who mainly shoots landscapes, and has also photographed many of Ishimoto's works. She captures the silence and light of nature from her unique perspective, demonstrating her sensitivity and worldview. She is breathtakingly beautiful, and along with photos of her that deeply resonate in our hearts, she writes about their encounter, their interactions, and what she learned from Ishimoto.

Written by Chikako Harada

In 1995, while studying abroad for the second time, I was learning classical printing techniques and, although I wasn't particularly interested in design, I casually visited a design forum in downtown Helsinki. Among the many Finnish designs, including glass and ceramics, there was one that particularly caught my eye. Although it has a very Japanese shape, it is a warm yellow vessel with a Finnish feel. "Whose work is this?" FUJIWO ISHIMOTO was written there. "He was Japanese after all." This was my first encounter with Ishimoto's work.

Meeting with Ishimoto. first job

Mr. Ishimoto's work at Arabia Atelier and the university I attended were right next to each other, but we didn't have a chance to meet for a long time. Years later, in 2011, I received a request to photograph Mr. Ishimoto's portrait and his atelier for the production of "Arabia 9.kerros" (Arabia XNUMX.kerros), which is supervised and published by Arabia Art Department. This was the first time I had the opportunity to work with them.

Before the shoot, when I stood in front of the door, I felt as nervous as if I was knocking at the dentist's office. The door opened and I was invited to step into the atelier, where a large table was lined with brightly colored plates and bowls. Mr. Ishimoto suggested, ``How about taking a portrait from above to make it look like I'm inside?'' and I realized that I had already created the frame I was imagining in my head. I did.

It is rare to find an artist who clearly communicates his or her intentions through portrait photography. When I climbed up on the desk and looked through the viewfinder, I saw that a dynamic composition of plates lined up had already been created, and I thought, ``As expected from a former graphic designer, this is amazing!'' After that, I brought in Mr. Ishimoto to compose the color, balance, and white space of the work, and in the end, he only focused on the expression. It was my first session, but I remember being able to finish the shoot with just the right amount of breathing. Since then, I have had many opportunities to photograph his works, and I am truly blessed to be able to learn about Mr. Ishimoto's sense of composition every time.

What I learned from Mr. Ishimoto about light and the sense of the four seasons

By taking a close look at Ishimoto's works, you can learn a lot more than just composition. Especially light. In particular, the expressions of simple, monochrome works change rapidly depending on how the light hits them and how they are reflected. The scenery created by light sometimes feels like the quiet moments in nature that I myself pursue in landscape photography.

Mr. Ishimoto also freely manipulates the texture of his works using clay and glaze, and expresses the four seasons and light through colors to make you feel them. There are reliefs of mandarin oranges gently hit by the sun, sparkling turquoise platters, and many other works that evoke the feeling of spring sunshine and melting snow. I have been taking monochrome landscape photographs for many years, but I feel that these photographs have evoked a new worldview of color for me. I think that learning this new sensation has led me to go out into nature even more and has increased my enjoyment of being in contact with nature even more.

→Next time is Noriko Kawakami (design journalist).
(Titles omitted)