Photo Project: Belonging

31 March 2020 ● 1 min read ● 5 images

An art photo series shot in Tokyo in the summer of 2019. The triptych below was presented at a joint exhibition organized by Temple University Japan Campus and Showa Women's University art students at Temple University Japan Campus' Art Gallery from November 5-28, 2019.

For two months, I walked around neighborhoods in Tokyo in search of abandoned bicycles as part of my final project for an introductory art photography class. I was interested in how such an organized and clean metropolitan city like Tokyo could have so many abandoned bicycles left in the most unthinkable places. In addition, I questioned what could have led the owners to leave them behind, especially since some of them appeared to be still in good condition. Even though these bicycles might have been forgotten by their owners, they seemed to have adapted to their new surroundings and created a place in which they now belong, whether it be tangled up by the thick foliage of a backyard or amongst the flowers that grow in the narrow space between two buildings.


Framing the photos:

Exhibition:


There is something incredibly poetic about forgotten bicycles! I love this series, especially the one with dokudami!

Erika Salmon I agree! Thank you so much, that bicycle was one of my favorite findings :)

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About Narumi

Narumi Imayuki

I'm an illustrator in Tokyo, Japan

Interested in illustration, creative writing, and photography.

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