Alien

Before moving to Japan, I have lived in three different countries and had experienced cultural shock. But it was Japan where, for the first time, I saw the difference between "foreigner" and "alien".

Before moving to Japan, I have lived in three different countries and had experienced cultural shock. But it was Japan where, for the first time, I saw the difference between "foreigner" and "alien".

10 years and 4 more countries later, I tried to reevaluate this experience of being an alien.

I am trying to show different physical, linguistic, cultural, morphological barriers that separate "locals" from “aliens”. Using my own archival photographs from Japan, I make associations with Japanese culture in an ignorant, "gaijin-like" way. As the project progresses, the light in the photographs becomes physically visible, which is exactly what happened in real life.

In Japan, I picked up a camera for the first time and since then I have been in constant search for light. Becoming an alien, you begin to get to know yourself and even see the rising sun.