The Third Room

Photography is really ambiguous. Partially documentary, partially fiction, partially real, partially abstract. These works are actually a conceptual photographs showing 3 ways of how we perceive things. There are 3 different metaphors associated to seeing. The first perception is eye (visual perception). The second perception is illusion and impression. The third perception is ambiguity between documentary and fiction. About first perception. It is a snapshot.These are fragments of the streets in Tokyo. The background is dark.This darkness is directly captured by the camera. It’s not taken at night, and not using flash. I used daylight coming through buildings or light reflected from the mirror of the buildings.These photographs represents the perception of light and objects of the cities. It is a metaphor of opened eyes. About second perception. This is only composed of colors, but this is actually also a kind of photography - a photogram. This is my abstract memory of the streets of Tokyo, recalled after taking snapshots in Tokyo.So this photogram represents my illusion and impression of the city. It is a metaphor of closed eyes. About third perception. It is a photogram on snapshot.These photographs represent something between street snaps and photograms. This is a metaphor for the ambiguity of seeing. Documentary never changes.Memories is a fiction created by our experiences.But memories always change depending on our experiences and state of mind. So we can say reading photography represents our changing experiences. Reading photography brings the possibility of a new meaning to the image, according to a specific time. These three ways of seeing - visual perception, illusion and impression, and the ambiguity of seeing,are always intertwining with each other. Seeing things is not as simple as we might think. I call the ambiguity of seeing “The Third Room” - which is also the title