[ predilection ] - (uzuraranshi : albumen print with quail egg white)

“Uzuraranshi” is the print process for this photography project. The photographs are processed on handmade albumen print paper with quail egg white. The technique is based on 19C old school albumen print process that usually uses chicken egg instead of quail egg. The images are no more than 5cm width and are contact printed in a darkroom with 35mm negative film. I consider the works are photographic “miniature” like medieval miniature paintings in Europe. I thought quail eggs are suitable for this miniature project since quail eggs are usually several times smaller than chicken eggs. For this work, I photographed disposable objects for our daily life that would be discarded right after they finish their roles. “Uzuraranshi”, the fiddly albumen print process is like a ritual ceremony to create prints. I feel that those disposable objects become independent with life through this ritual process. I suppose that I could witness Samsata, the cycle of reincarnation that these objects reincarnate to the new states.