Artist portfolio
Etsuko Kato
I am looking for myself through the lens. Sometimes old mechanical cameras capture my mind and I can learn about myself from the pictures. I love those moments and I want to know more about myself. I will keep looking into the finder and taking pictures until I can find and understand myself. If you see my photos, you can see who I am and what I am thinking at that moment, because I believe each photograph explains a little bit about me.
Artist Statement
I am Japanese. Once again, I was reminded of that fact: “I am Japanese.” Who is Etsuko Kato?
When I lived in Japan, I never cared or thought much about it, but in the United States, being Japanese became something important next to my name. After living in the United States for over 10 years, people in Japan told me that I am not Japanese anymore, while people in the United States told me that I am Japanese. I ask myself: Who am I?
Photography captures this physical world, but it also captures the world in which “I” am living. By taking photographs, I confirm the fact that I am alive. I use the camera as my third eye and the lens as my filter. Through these tools, I see and learn so many things. The moments the camera captures reveal what I thought, what and how I felt, and what my criteria are. These fragments, little by little, give me hints toward answering my question: “Who am I?”
For me, taking photographs is a conversation with myself. Sometimes I try to have conversations with others, using paper as a medium—as a Japanese person, as Etsuko Kato, and as a human being. Many questions arise from these conversations: “What is Japanese?” “What is the relationship between Japan and me?” and “Who am I?”