Vague
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Dates2018 - Ongoing
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Author
Vague challenges the way Westerners perceive
another culture, different from its own. In Japan, the familiar
is hidden away through the optics of a Westerner and the safe
assumptions are reduced to guessing.
The photographer, Olivia Rohde, travelled to Japan in 2018 and
experienced — for the first time — an entirely different reality.
Tokyo and Kyoto showcase the Japanese culture, but are stark
opposites.
In Tokyo, the crowd and mass production are wonderfully unified
with a structured flow and overwhelming safety. In Kyoto, the
nature is present in a respectful unity with man who demonstrates
modesty and gratefulness for the surroundings. Japanese cultures
cause an extreme fascination and wanting for the familiar. We can
more comfortably define our surroundings and feel safe in the
familiar, but this is not the purpose of the exhibition.
With her photographs, she seeks to create a frame meant for
interpretation. The urge to define has to be suppressed, when
the 12 pieces are exhibited without chronology or obvious
intention. The ambiguous motifs are meant to let thoughts flow
without necessarily being redeemed. The aim is a universal
language without presumptions.
Vague — unclear character or meaning.
(Vague was exhibited as a part of Copenhagen Photo Festival, June 2019. Vague is still an ongoing project as I am going to Japan next year to expand my material and horisont)