元々のこの企画のきっかけは約10年前、タイのプーケットで地元の子供達を撮影する機会があったことでした。制服を着た４人の女の子達に学校の壁の前に立ってもらい撮影をしようとしていた時、ふと思いついたのです。現地のフルーツを絡めて一緒に撮ったらどうなるんだろ？とやってみると最初は普通の表情だった子供達がフルーツを挟んだ途端、なんとも言えない味わい深い表情に変わったのです。それぞれの個性が違った形で強く感じられた瞬間でした。
そしてしばらくしてから日本人の子供達で撮影する事を試みたのです。何回か試すうちに同じ服装、同じ背景、同じ動作、同じ光と言った状況を揃える事で一見、個性を失くすように見えますが実は逆にそれぞれの個性をより一層引き立たせる事がわかりました。
年齢は、フルーツを肩に挟んで撮影することがぎりぎり出来る年頃の3才3ヶ月から5才までの女の子に限定しました。撮影していく上で、子どもたちには2つの条件だけお願いしたのです。1つめは出来るだけ真っ直ぐ前を向いて立つこと、2つめはフルーツを肩に挟む事。たったそれだけのことですが、ほとんどの子が果物を挟んで真っ直ぐカメラを見る事が中々上手に出来ません。ある時は泣いてしまってどうしても出来なくて日を改めて3回チャレンジした子もいたり、何人かはお母さんとどうしても手を離したくなく、仕方なくお母さんが床に寝転んで手だけ繋いで撮影したりもしました。本人達は挟むことに必死なあまり、段々と無意識のうちにとても一生懸命な表情になってくるのです。状況や条件をシンプルにすればするほど、本人が意識できない無意識の表情が強く表れてきたのです。
最初は試行錯誤しながら1年半かけて100人を撮影したのですが、もっと数を撮らないとダメなんじゃないかと勝手に思い込み1000人を約5年程かけて撮影しました。進めていくうちに、無意識の状態にある時の方が個性が強く表れることに気付き、最後の方では確信に変わりました。誰もが心と身体に無意識の領域を持っていて、この方法で一瞬だけでもそこを垣間見ることが出来るかも知れないと思います。
The original inspiration for this project was around 10 years ago, when I had the opportunity to photograph local children in Phuket, Thailand. When I was going to have four girls wearing uniforms stand in front of the wall of the school so I could take their photo, suddenly I had an idea. What if I mixed local fruits into the photo? Trying the idea, the children who had at first had normal expressions suddenly changed to indescribable, tasteful expressions as soon as fruit was placed between them. In that moment, I strongly felt that the individuality of each was distinct.
After a while, I tried taking photos of Japanese children. As I was going through several attempts, I realized that although matching the situation by using the same clothing, the same background, the same movements, and the same lighting apparently seemed to make them lose their individuality, in reality it actually brought out their individuality.
I restricted the subjects to girls from the age of 3 years 3 months where they could just barely take a photo with fruit sandwiched between their shoulders to 5 years old. When taking the photos, I asked the children to follow two conditions. The first was to stand facing straight ahead as best they could, and the second was to sandwich fruit between their shoulders. Those were the only conditions, but nearly all of the children were unable to manage facing the camera while sandwiching fruit between their shoulders.
Sometimes a child would start crying and nothing could be done, and I had to try three times on different days, and some children refused to let go of their mothers’ hands, so I had to take the photo while having the mothers lie down on the floor with only their hands reaching up. As they become focused on trying to sandwich the fruit, the children’s expressions gradually and unconsciously show how they are trying their best. The simpler I made the situation and conditions, the more strongly the unconscious facial expressions of the children appeared.
At first, over several attempts of trial and error, I spent a year and a half taking the photos of 100 children, but I was convinced that I had to take the photos of a larger number, and ended up taking the photos of 1000 children over about five years. As I proceeded, I realized that times when the children were in an unconscious state showed their individuality more, and I became certain of this by the end. think that everyone has an unconscious part of their mind and body, and by this method it is possible to show that part, at least for an instant.