Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/627675
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 JANUARY 2016 30 This Week Listening to the streets The Japan-born, Malta-based photographer Tomoko Goto is currently showcasing some of her most recent work – sourced from her travels back to her homeland as well as the Netherlands and Malta – at the Architecture Project building in Valletta, as part of an exhibition entitled '…streets et cetera…'. She spoke to TEODOR RELJIC about the pervasive – and revealing – power of street photography, as well as her impressions of the Maltese cultural scene How long have you been experi- menting with street photography? Why does the genre appeal to you? I've been working in this genre for about five years. I think many pho- tographers start by taking pictures on the street because it's the most immediate place to practice the ba- sics under natural light. The street is also full of lives and drama, and that gives me a sense of connection to a place. My university education was in cultural anthropology. I've always had a keen interest in cultural diver- sity and how people live. In my pho- tos, I try to find meaning or beauty in the ordinary. I don't mean 'beauty' in a superficial sense, but beauty which comes from the complexity of sto- ries, emotions, and history as it rises from a subject. Absurd moments and haphazard instances. Things that have always been there but that we overlook. I want to capture that essence in my photographs. I also enjoy playing with colour, contrast, and visual rhythm. Travel is great for that. I love working with the golden yellow sunlight in Malta, as well as the bleak nostalgic feel of the light in northern Europe. Given that you're a travel pho- tographer, how does returning to Japan affect your work? Does your homeland influence you to shift your gaze a little bit? I was born and raised in Japan, but I've lived outside the country for half my life. Having been an expat for such a long time, living in completely different cultures and environments from Japan became a part of me to the point where I finally started feel- ing like a foreigner in my own coun- try. When I go back, Japan feels fa- miliar, but the society doesn't quite agree with me anymore, especially in terms of their unbalanced work ethic and the groupthink mental- ity. As a photographer, this sense of cultural detachment helps me notice things that many Japanese and non- Japanese don't see. I become curi- ous about things I never would have found interesting. And on the street people often look at me wondering, "Why is she photographing that?" How did taking the photographs of Japan feel when compared to the other two cities/places? Were there any distinct shifts in focus, or even style? The twelve photographs presented in this exhibition were taken in Ja- pan, Malta and the Netherlands. The big difference lies in whether I look like one of them or a foreigner. I blend in with the Japanese commu- nity quite well. It's mentally easy for me to work there because I can be a part of the environment. But in plac- es like Malta or the Netherlands, I am a visible outsider. People usually see me as just another Asian tourist with a camera hanging around her neck. But one advantage of taking on the tourist role is that I'm expected to take photographs. That's what tour- ists do. I get to meet nice people who want to talk about themselves and model for me. A Maltese fisherman once told me, "Make sure you send this photo to your family in China". So I stand out in the crowd, but I can often break the ice with people easily because I'm a foreigner. The degree of familiarity and time restriction also determines the out- come. If I have only two days in a place I've never visited before – like my stay in the Netherlands – I can easily become over-whelmed by eve- rything I see. So I usually photograph a very small area and spend time walking back and forth in order to form a specific theme in my mind. What would you say are some of the more interesting dynamics between the Japanese streetscape and its architecture? How did you seek to capture this? All of the Japanese images shown in this exhibition were taken in Tokyo. It's a vibrant city with a mix of sci-fi and tradition, anonymous skyscrap- ers and tightly knit communities, and radically different flows of speed and mind. It's a city where walking down a peaceful side street can lead you to the busiest pedestrian cross- ing you've ever encountered. Tokyo contains all the extremes in one place. I'm interested in how people find their own space to exist in such a chaotic environment. Feeling lonely in a highly populated city is worse than the sense of solitude you get in a small town or in a foreign coun- try. And the architecture of Tokyo definitely contributes to this sense of alienation. The cityscape divides people, segregating them from one another, and sticking them in their own small cell, both physically and mentally. My recent book, Tokyo Lost & Found, published by Ede Books in "Malta is lacking a sense of patronage for the arts, and so art here cannot become a full time way of life" Tomoko Goto. Below and page 28: a selection of photos forming part of the '...streets et cetera...' exhibition