Yoshiki Hase's ENA emerges as a poignant exploration of the intimate interplay between landscape, local culture, and the passage of time.
Nestled in the verdant embrace of Gifu Prefecture's southern reaches, Ena serves as the canvas for Hase's meticulously crafted visual narrative. Utilizing the venerable 4x5 film view camera, a tool that demands deliberation and intent, Hase invites us on a seven-year odyssey that began in 2010 and culminated in a striking art book, "ENA" (YUKAI HANDS PUBLISHING, 2018), that marries the transient with the eternal.
Hase's initial encounter with Ena was serendipitous, born from a professional endeavor in film production. Yet, it was the town's mythical connection to the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, and a personal revelation—Ena being his father's birthplace—that cast a spell on Hase. To many, Ena might appear as just another quaint locale in Japan's mountainous hinterland, but for Hase, it was a reservoir of untapped aesthetic potential and stories waiting to be told. Armed with his large-format camera, Hase returned, driven by a vision to immortalize the essence of Ena through its inhabitants and landscapes.
Hase's approach eschews the orchestrated drama typical of large-scale set-up photography, favoring instead a dialogue with spontaneity and authenticity. Unlike the meticulously staged tableaus of Gregory Crewdson, Hase's work is a testament to the beauty of natural occurrence and the genuine connection between subject and environment. The residents of Ena, with minimal posing, become the protagonists in Hase's visual symphony, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between the people and the land they inhabit.
The imagery of ENA oscillates between the allegorical and the documentary, weaving a tapestry that celebrates the mundane as mystical. Mountains, lakes, rice fields, ancient dwellings, and industrial relics all play their part in Hase's narrative, serving as backdrops to the lives that unfold in their shadow. It is in the accidental—the unanticipated moments captured on film—that Hase's work finds its soul, elevating the series to a realm where every frame hints at a story much larger than the sum of its parts.
"ENA" is more than a photographic series; it is Yoshiki Hase's love letter to a place that, despite its initial impression as a typical countryside, revealed layers of beauty and narrative depth that captivated him. It is a reminder of the power of returning to one's roots and seeing the familiar through new eyes. As Hase himself reflects on his journey, from his first awe-struck moments amidst Ena's natural splendor to the profound connections forged with its lifelong inhabitants, we too are invited to reconsider our perceptions of place and identity.
This collection, resonating with themes of homecoming, discovery, and the nuanced relationship between man and nature, represents a significant milestone in Hase's career. Four years since his last exhibition, the anticipation surrounding this unveiling is palpable. ENA not only chronicles Hase's evolution as an artist but also challenges us to find beauty in the everyday, to see the epic in the ordinary. As we eagerly await the opportunity to experience ENA firsthand, it is clear that Yoshiki Hase has once again redefined the boundaries of photographic storytelling.
