100 Asian Portraits　“một trăm” Asians　(ART FAIR EARTH 2024 related project)

　Today, many foreigners are coming to Japan for inbound travel, but this is a record of 100 people interviewed and photographed in the Corona Disaster, where they could not move freely.

　The project started in 2021 with the idea of conveying the thoughts and feelings of those who were unable to return to their home countries at the time. Over the course of a year and a half, we took portraits of 100 people from 18 countries, including Vietnam, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Jordan, and Kazakhstan. During the photo shoot, I was often asked to “show the photos now” or “I want the images,” so I decided to take simultaneous photos with my smartphone as well. All of the color works on display were taken with a smartphone.
　It was almost the first time for me to meet the subjects who would become models. We thought it was essential to have a dialogue first in order to reflect each person's thoughts and feelings in a single photograph, so we attempted to interview them while taking video with a smartphone before the shoot. Many of them spoke very little Japanese and English, but we took our time to communicate with them.
The interviews were conducted in Japanese and English, and we took our time to communicate with them.
　Each of them had something in common despite their difficult feelings. That is that all 100 people are cheerful and positive!
　It may be too simple to put it into words, but if you look at the expressions on their faces in the photos, you can see what I am talking about.

　And this project is ongoing. I am still connected with them through SNS, and as of September 2024, I am still coming to Vietnam to continue taking photos.