MU

I have done a lot of foreign traveling by myself and exhibited photographs from those experiences. I think that seeing different cultures and people helps us see our own (your own) culture. The things I have found by seeing a lot of places are common points of human beings even though there are many differences between our cultures. By traveling different places, I can have time not only to see exotic places or people, but also think about my life and identity. I kept questioning myself during the travels; "Where am I from?" "Who am I?" "Where do I go from here?" By doing that, the "standards" in my mind started crumbling down. They are the measurement of time, distance and so on.

After they are broken down, "Mu" is the only thing left. "Mu" means "nothing" in Japanese which is the foundation of Zen spirits. The more I travel, the more I see everything from a viewpoint of nothing. I have not found the answer yet, because I am still on the road of traveling.

Traveling is a compressed picture of one's life.

These pictures I have presented here are the fragments of the scene I encountered. They are from the pages of my photo-sketchbook.

Spring, 1997