Interview for Falmouth University with Hiroki Fujitani

1: What was the path that led you to photography?

One time I dropped at a store and I happened to find a camera. And the moment I took a shot, something just hit me like a lightning. I was like “this is it, this is what I do in my life”, and I bought the camera right on the spot. That is where everything started. Up until today.

2: How’d you define your artistic practice? In my words, art is intervention of everyday life, by which I mean every work of art or everything you create is influenced by your daily life one way or another. Like your behavior, habits, routines and everything you do, feel, touch or look at. So it’s like an epitome of your life. It’s something that’s reflected on by YOURSELF. None of the artistic practices can be achieved ‘in and of itself’, I believe.

3: Categorization and selection are key elements in photography practices. How did this attitude appear in your work? When I’m taking pictures, or picking out good ones, I feel like the most important thing in selection or categorization is always think outside the box. I mean, it’s always the easiest way to follow the existing theories. Like this should be categorized this way, that picture will go with this better, therefore the layout is going to be like this. I would definitely rather not go that way. So, I always try not to care what it’s supposed to be like. Looking for something new, putting yourself out there is what I always have in mind, and I hope this would appear in my works of art. 4: Your works are particularly contemplative. What is your relation to time when it comes creating art? Honestly, I’ve never thought about that. I’m not sure this can answer your question, but I think, at least, it doesn’t always have to be now, right at the moment. Sometimes things don’t seem to make sense to you right now. There’re times it takes a while until you can really evaluate the picture, or you can find the answer. So, I kind of feel like, the picture you took just now doesn’t necessarily mean now. Does it make sense? 5: Which photographers inspired and influenced the creative processes? I think it’s always been artists in different fields that inspired me in creating. For example, graphic designers are always my inspiration, like Tadanori Yokoo who’s holding his exhibition right now in the US by the way. Another example would be novelists. Ryunosuke Akutagawa is also one that inspired me a lot.

6: Which photo album or exhibition was the most defining in your life? The Americans, by Robert Frank, hands down. And when it comes to exhibitions, I would say Josef Koudelka. 7: How can your own personal world appear in your series? As I mentioned earlier, I’m not very much of a guy that likes to follow something already there. So, basically I don’t think about the concept when I takes pictures. When you feel like it’s the moment, it is the moment to take a shot. You know the thing is, I would say that it would probably end up backfiring at some point thinking about trying to make your personal world appear in your works and pursuing too much of that. So, not trying is the best way forward that would bring “YOU” to works of art, I guess. Plus, it’ll rather come up more naturally that way. But oftentimes I pick out the people or things that could represent that era, so you can feel as if you’re actually walking on the street at that time when you’re picking pictures out. 8: Have you created anything of artistic value in an other field, something you have kept in the drawer? I used to do oil painting when I was younger. 9: How does the corona virus pandemic affect you? How can you survive this professionally? What I’d like to do with this camera is basically capture the reality and get it out to the world. That’s it. I always take everything as it is. If people have to wear masks any time, so be it. All I have to do then is take the picture of it. So, basically I guess it didn’t change very much about my activities. But the funny thing is that, in the beginning, I used to feel like I was doing something wrong every time I took a picture because I had to wear a mask, which I’m already used to now. I don’t know why, but I felt like I was like a pervert or something. These days I got some jobs for documentary shooting. And I’m really having fun time with it. So, maybe it could be said that it influenced my activities in the way that I started some new jobs that I’ve never done before. Overall, I take it totally positively.

10: What photo did you take last time? Show it and tell me about it. This is one from the documentary shooting job I’m doing right now. This documentary is about a man reconstructing a house that was built before WW2. I like this power and the vibe he’s got. Also I hope you can see the craftsmanship of Japan. Nothing specific has been decided yet, but I’d like to present this photo one way or another.

11: Is identity search a lifelong process? Yes, I think so, in my case. Because I want to figure out who I am through the pictures I’ve ever taken. Other than that, why do I like this photo, why am I fascinated with this, or why do I not like this photo, or why do I want to take pictures of ‘people’, that kind of thing is, in my case, something that can make me realize who I am, whether it’s conscious or not. 12: What advice would you give to those who contemplate a similar international career in photography? Now it’s like the reality’s more dramatic, and imagination’s more real. Up is down and down came up. The world’s lacking imagination. So, if I had to give some advice, I would say, expose yourself to a lot of things, whatever it is. Reading a book, watching movies on your laptop, making new friends, anything can be an inspiration. And sometimes it might come out unexpectedly. And one more thing. Don’t post everything on social media immediately. Sometimes you should wait for the right time to put it out, especially for some kind of big project or something. Thank you for having me on this. I hope this could help. Good luck for your work!