The internationally renowned photographer Miyako Ishiuchi can be called a portraitist, though people's faces rarely appear in her work. She is known for evoking people through things, and while a conventional portrait erects barriers between photographer and subject, seer and seen, she breaks them down by viscerally capturing the textures of objects and places and connecting us to their former owners and occupants. This works to powerful effect in her well-known series ひろしま/hiroshima, Frida by Ishiuchi, Frida Love and Pain, and Mother's, all close-ups of clothing and personal, often intimate items that once touched skin. Skin itself is the subject of two other series, Scars and Innocence, which sensitively portray the surfaces of bodies affected by injuries, illnesses, and inexorable time. more...

While the intent of my Focus articles is normally to share information about current exhibitions on Japanese architecture, we are still feeling the effects of the Covid-19 restrictions and their limitations on organized events. Fortunately there is no limit to what we can see and experience of Japan's architecture simply by observing our everyday living environment. Every detail of what surrounds us has a story behind its existence. On this occasion, I would like to take a closer look at the profusion of green rooftop gardens among the retail buildings of Tokyo. more...