Ma (2015)
Ma (間) Is a Japanese term that is used in art and architecture, literally meaning "space”, "gap”, "pause” or "the space between two structural parts”. The word ‘ma’ essentially refers to an "interval” between two or more spatial or temporal things and events. To sense something invisible is an essence of Japanese art. Awareness of form and non-form are equally significant. Ma as a concept can be described as a consciousness of place, not in the sense of an enclosed three-dimensional entity, but rather the simultaneous awareness of form and non-form deriving from an intensification of vision. It is the thing that takes place in the imagination of the human who experiences these elements. Therefore Ma can be defined as an experiential place understood with emphasis on interval.
In this project I am trying to visualize the "Ma-experience” through photography. I have photographed the works for this series in so-called transitional spaces, like corridors, hallways and yards. These are places that are used for passing through – the "gaps” and "pauses” of the architecture. By placing a reflection in the picture, I try to break the traditional way of seeing a space in "one frame” or as an entity, bringing a view from outside the photograph into the same picture plane. By doing this I try to imitate the experience of being in-between; being aware of the space where I´m now, but at the same time being aware of the other spaces surrounding me. It interests me to view space as a substance, as an experimental matter. Through this project I go back to the same principal ideas that I have been concentrating on my photographic projects already previously: The human ways of seeing and making a perception - and how to "disturb” them through photography. Is a photograph actually able to imitate a spatial experience? Can we ever forget the documentary value of a photographed image and stop reading its references to reality?