Illuminance

by Rinko Kawauchi (Photographer), David Chandler (Contributor)

In 2001, Rinko Kawauchi launched her career with the simultaneous publication of three astonishing photobooks -- Utatane, Hanabi and Hanako -- firmly establishing herself as one of the most innovative newcomers to contemporary photography, not just in Japan, but across the globe. In the years that followed, she published other notable monographs, including AILA (2004), the eyes, the ears, (2005) and Semear (2007). And now, ten years after her precipitous entry onto the international stage, Aperture has published Illuminance, the latest volume of Kawauchi's work and the first to be published outside of Japan.

Kawauchi's photography has frequently been lauded for its nuanced palette and offhand compositional mastery, as well as its ability to incite wonder via careful attention to tiny gestures and the incidental details of her everyday environment. As Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian in 2006, noted, "there is always some glimmer of hope and humanity, some sense of wonder at work in the rendering of the intimate and fragile."

In Illuminance, Kawauchi continues her exploration of the extraordinary in the mundane, drawn to the fundamental cycles of life and the seemingly inadvertent, fractal-like organization of the natural world into formal patterns. Gorgeously produced as a clothbound volume with Japanese binding, this impressive compilation of previously unpublished images -- which garnered Kawauchi a nomination for the Deutsche Börse Prize--is proof of her unique sensibility and ongoing appeal to lovers of photography.

Genres: Photography, Japan, Art, Japanese Literature, Art and Photography

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2011

About the author

Rinko Kawauchi is a contemporary Japanese photographer known for her lyrical images of elemental subjects. Based in the Shinto religion as well as the works of Irving Penn, Kawauchi’s photographs capture ordinary moments with a profound almost hallucinatory perspective. “From the black ocean comes the appearance of light and waves. It helps you imagine birth,” she has mused. “I want imagination in the photographs I take. It’s like a prologue. You wonder, ‘What’s going on?’ You feel something is going to happen.”

Born on April 6, 1972 in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, she began pursuing photography while attending the Seian College of Art and Design in Osaka during the early 1990s. Working mainly in advertising for a number of years after graduating, Kawauchi published her first photo book in 2001 and went on to release several others, including Illuminance (2011), Ametsuchi (2013), and Halo (2017). She currently lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. Today, Kawauchi’s works are held in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Huis Marseille in Amsterdam, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, among others.

Reviews

[Mike Kleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a masterful film. Every image on the left syncs up beautifully with the image on the right. This type of synchronicity is poetic--easily missable. There are no words or titles to the images. I felt like I was in a dream (NB: I said dream, not nightmare). A meditation on the simple joys and pleasures of life. The little things. Nothing. Describing the work of Kawauchi is useless. It's just visual bliss. #1.

[kari trail · Rating 5 out of 5]

rinko is brilliant and i forgot how finding her work in high school shook something inside of me and made me fall in love with photography again. you can feel her photographs in your chest… something so entelechal and otherworldly about each one. each spread pairing is genius ! dreamy !

[Cara Tobe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning photographs on their own, but the way they are paired with each other is truly incredible.

[Zander Engelke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that Rinko Kawauchi has more impactful books, but this is the only one of hers I own. Rinko is such a significant icon in the aesthetics of contemporary fine art photography, her style is so impressive and deserving of all the emulation it sees. Another book I would like to reread. I, like every other photographer in the world, am always so deeply impressed by Rinko's understanding and usage of light.

[Mauricio Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the ten anniversary edition, which is a beautifully published monograph by Aperture which highlights the magnificent Rolleiflex photographs by Kawauchi. To me her works simply speak magnitudes.

[Ying-Qiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

cherished common experience

[Cristina Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poético, sensible y excepcional, para mirarlo y remirarlo miles de veces.

[dv · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is difficult to review, I need to spend more time with this book and in general with Kawauchi photographs. She is so good at looking at everyday life with a lyrical and poetical (for lack of better words) sight. And she's so good at photographing nature without fear of reproducing stereotypes and without fear of indulging in blurred or out of focus pictures (and even so many close-ups). She's definitely got a personal style. I'm not so sure about her telling style and above all about the often too simple editing structure of the book proceeding with coupled images (left+right page of the book). And the books sometimes feels overcrowded with images. But, as I wrote in the beginning, I need to spend more time with this book.
PS: this Aperture's edition is beautiful.

[Mila Belén · Rating 5 out of 5]

No se puede decir nada malo sobre este fotolibro y la autora de estas increíbles obras. Exquisito, conmovedor, bello como todo lo que hace Rinko.

[Adam Thorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect set of Kawauchi photos, the simple title ties them all together beautifully. All I ever wanted from her, this book is a treasure.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some beautiful shots with nice texture, mood, light and color - some brutal shots, as well.