THEME #17Winners2020NOV

LIFE

GRAND PRIX

DETAIL

Statement

‘If I can stop one Heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.’

The title “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain” is a quote from Emily Dickinson’s poem.
I photographed the kitchens of women living in Nakanojo town, in the North Kanto region of Japan. The kitchen is a culmination of knowledge and ingenuity of those who use them as well as their daily emotions and philosophy.

Profile

Mitsuko TANIGUCHI

Born in Hyogo Prefecture.
Graduated from Waseda University School of Humanities and Social Sciences, First Division / Graduated from Image Arts, Nihon University Graduate School
Completed the Nihon University College of Art Doctoral Course
Ph.D. in Arts
Researcher, Nihon University Arts Research Center
Alongside researching the trends in contemporary art and culture, I continue to be active in expressive photography. Since enrolling in Image Arts program at the Nihon University Graduate School, I have been involved in a project aiming to photograph the kitchens of various women.
2013 Epson Spotlight Exhibition
2015 Participated in Nakanojo Biennale

Jury selection

During the past year, when many of us were confined to our homes, the domestic spaces we inhabit increasingly felt like siloes, protecting us while simultaneously separating us from each other. Mitsuko TANIGUCHI provides a welcome way for us to circulate in the homes of others once again through her wonderful study of kitchens located in the town of Nakanojo. The specific contents of each kitchen reveal information about the people who utilize them, much like Tokuko USHIODA’s well-known series Ice Box. But Taniguchi’s work also projects a sense of intimacy between the photographer and the women whose homes she entered, as well as a reverence and respect for the work performed in the domestic sphere. While we wait for a moment when travel becomes possible once more, I am grateful for projects like this one by Taniguchi that facilitate our ability to see new worlds and feel connected to each other in spite of our distance.