ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Torii, Shosanbetsu, Japan

This photograph is part of my project ‘Japan, Waterscapes & Beyond’.
This project is a personal long-term one about the esthetic value of the man-made objects or structures built on the lake shores or coastlines and the way they pertain to the landscapes.

Over time, the traces left by humans above the water deeply affect the perception of the landscape one can have. Once they are no longer in use, these elements are rarely taken to pieces but rather left abandoned.
Slowly, the man-made structures become the indicators of the passing time until they have totally disappeared.
To me, these objects are more constructive elements than disruptive ones. This ‘unwitting esthetics’ contributes unintentionally to the beauty of the lakes and coastlines. They deeply call me to mind for their particular expression, their spiritual presence and their close connection to the traditional Japanese painting.

This continuous project has been built in several countries and in Japan for many years where lakes and coastlines have become important places of inspiration among my different projects about the country.
It was exhibited in Tokyo in April 2017.

AUTHOR
Olivier Robert is a professional photographer and landscape architect sharing his life between Europe and Japan. Initiated very early into the world of photography and dark room, he got his first camera at the age of 15. At that time, he also discovered Asia. This intense experience has drastically influenced his way of life and his vision of the world. From then on, photography and Asian philosophy will be closely linked.

In 1994, he graduated from the Institute of Landscape Architecture in Belgium and left his native country for Switzerland. As he arrived in the Lake Geneva region in 1995, he started a photographic work about the lake. After some years, this work has become a personal project based on a deep fascination of the photographer for this lake. This project is still continuing 20 years after and has pushed him into visiting many other lakes in the world. Since 2004, he has devoted his work almost exclusively to landscapes and waterscapes using mainly long exposures.
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For his continuous projects as well as family reasons, he often gets thoroughly across Japan looking for specific landmarks which convey timelessness, simplicity and sometimes mystery.
This approach has led him to the most remote places of the archipelago, through mountains, temples and shrines about which he has also carried out a photographic project on Buddhist statuary and sacred art for years.

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