On Her Skin by Photographer Asako Shimizu

Now that the weathers picked up here I’ve been feeling like I need to get my camera out more. I have a tendency to slip in and out of creative photography depending on the season, when the sun reflects off different objects and buildings creating unique shadows it starts to spark my imagination. Especially when it comes to film photography, then it’s all about the natural lighting and capturing “the moment”.

Japanese photographer Asako Shimizu’s series ‘On Her Skin’ is both vivid and mesmerising. A project completed in 2006, this collection has a timeless appeal with a resulting concept that’s quite poetic. It doesn’t surprise me that this was captured on a medium format camera, the Hasselblad 500 C/M to be exact. This is a camera that I’ve been meaning to try myself but have never had the opportunity, they take absolutely splendid photographs when placed in the right hands. I think one of the appealing things about this series is the unusual reflections on the sky and floor, they’re almost other worldly. The serenity of the natural landscape is also comforting, especially those images that involve a wispy outline of a human being. Maybe it’s hinting at us going back to nature?

Based in Tokyo, Asako Shimizu has participated in numerous exhibitions including a group show at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. Interestingly, late 2013 was the first time these photos had been exhibited in Europe at the Unseen Photo Fair. It’s this reason that works like this are a valuable resource, lots of fantastic projects are created but aren’t shown or fully promoted. Hopefully platforms like our own help to highlight these creatives, and in turn will inspire you to create something for yourself.

shimizuasako.com

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