CANON PHOTO CIRCLE / July 2020 issue

CANONが発行する会報誌「CANON PHOTO CIRCLE」に作品掲載して頂きました。
2019年1月に装丁家の矢萩多聞さんと2人で取材した、インド・カルナータカ州はウッピナクドゥルという村の人形劇団の方達の写真です。
450年続く人形劇を守り、発展させ続けている座長のバスカールさんを中心に彼らの仕事と暮らしと土地を中心に撮影しました。
「スマホが自分たちのライバル」と言う彼らはインド国内だけでなく、海外公演も頻繁に行いながら、村にパペットアカデミーを建て、後進の育成や国内の伝統芸能演者たちを集めて公演を行うなど、かなり先鋭的でインディペンデントな活動をしています。
僕が彼らに何よりも惹かれたのは、小さな田舎村をベースとしながら世界を見据えて常に活動していること、伝統を継承しつつも変化を恐れず進み続けていることです。
こういう人が存在してくれてるだけで本当に心強いというか、指針になるなと。
この作品は現在多聞さんと写真集にまとめている最中で、複数冊構成の本にする予定です。

My work has been published in CANON PHOTO CIRCLE, a newsletter published by CANON.
This is a photo of a puppet theater group in a village called Uppinakudur in Karnataka, India, which I interviewed with Tamon Yahagi, a bookbinder, in January 2019.
We focused on the work, life, and land of the troupe, with a focus on the leader, Mr. Bhaskar, who has been protecting and developing the 450-year-old puppet show.
They say that “smartphones are our rivals,” and they frequently perform not only in India but also overseas, building a puppet academy in their village, training young performers, and gathering traditional performers from around the country for performances.
What attracted me to them more than anything else was the fact that they were based in a small rural village, but were always working with an eye on the world, and that they were not afraid to change while continuing to pass on their traditions.
Just the fact that such a person exists is really reassuring, or rather, a guideline.
I am currently working with Tamon to compile this work into a photo book, which will be published in multiple volumes.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)