Hazuki Taira
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Hazuki Taira is a Tokyo-based photographer who started taking Polaroids of the sky from her balcony when she was ten. She works with film, prints on washi paper, and finishes some pieces with beeswax. She rarely shoots in sharp focus. Taira says she photographs moments that are difficult to hold onto, and clarity is not what she is after. Some of her work includes braille, because reading by touch is slow, and she wants her photographs to be received the same way. She has shot projects in Helsinki, Paris and Seoul, and her work has been exhibited in Helsinki, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo.
Q: How did photography begin for you? Was it always art photography, or did it come through another door?
A: I started when I was around ten, taking Polaroids of the sky from my balcony every day. At the time, I wasn't thinking about art. I was simply drawn to the strangeness of something that kept changing in appearance while remaining in the same place, and I think I wanted to hold onto that. That feeling still connects to what I'm making now.
Q: You print on washi paper and use beeswax. How did those materials enter your process?
A: It wasn't something I decided on from the beginning. I arrived at washi paper and beeswax through experimenting with different materials. By changing the edges of the print and the way light appears on the surface, the way the photograph is received also shifts slightly. That quality feels in line with my work.
Q: You deliberately let images fall out of focus. When did you start trusting blur over sharpness?
A: I sometimes feel as if I'm observing myself from a distance. When I couldn't put that into words, I started to project it into photographs. I don't clearly remember when that began.
Q: Braille appears as a theme. What's the connection between touch and photography for you?
A: My photographs don't present clearly defined visual information. Seeing tends to grasp the whole in an instant, while touching takes more time to understand.
By incorporating braille, I let that difference appear within the photographs.
Q: You've shot projects in Helsinki, Paris, Seoul, and Tokyo. Does the place change the way you photograph?
A: My way of photographing doesn't change much, but what I notice does. The place influences perception more than the method.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I reflect my current sensibility in my photographs, thinking about how ambiguous images and expressions are seen and received.
