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Statement by the photographer, Kumi OGURO
"In this artist book, a selection of works I have created throughout the last decade are bundled together. ' Hester' is the title of one of the photographs featured and originally taken from a character in the novel, 'A Prayer for Owen Meany', by John Irving. I am drawn to this particular fictional female, Hester, because of her extreme nature; she is an extrovert, aggressive and chaotic, but also sensitive, loving and charming. With a lot of affection, I could call all the women in my photographs ‘Hester’." (© Kumi OGURO)
Background information
"For several years, Kumi OGURO has pursued a project centred around the creation of scenes using female figures. Her compositions stir the imagination and subconscious of the viewer, connecting with a multitude of cultural references that each individual may hold. The photographs are a point of stillness in a 'world just next to our own', as she describes it, where the mind will wander through its flick book of memory and thought." (© Laura Barnicoat)
Book review / content
"One could easily establish quite a precise typology by looking at the images collected and placed in the photo volume 'Hester' by Kumi OGURO (the word ‘image’ is used on purpose here, instead of photography or photographic work). Here, we can see – and this list is not exhaustive – female figures, parts of bodies, closed-off interiors that are often empty, abandoned or run-down, spaces, floors and wide-open ceilings, plays on natural or artificial light, the presence of mirrors that are concealed to varying degrees, trivial accessories such as fabrics, curtains, clothes, woollen threads, cotton, chairs and armchairs that have become worn with use, small figurines, marbles or festive confetti, primary colours and other shades that are, frankly, lacklustre. But, proceeding in this manner, would we knowingly enter this world, of which Kumi OGURO shows us carefully designed and selected sections? A world – a story – that is equally about what she wants to reveal, but which she does not describe to us, and what we are encouraged to discover on our own." (© Alain Delaunois)