ARTIST STATEMENT

The Gift from the Sea

Late in the afternoon, I was looking up at the sky on the way home from shopping. The clouds moved slowly and changed their forms. It was like watching the inside of a womb. I have heard that the birth rate is high on days of a full moon. Does a full moon pull out babies? It is said that amniotic fluid and seawater are made up of similar constituents. I'm sure that the sea is inside me. As the expected date of birth approached, I had no doubt that I was a part of nature. I expressed an image that was formed through my experience of giving birth. I really wanted to take pictures of a new life coming out of my body, so I had my single-lens reflex camera on my chest when I started the labor. As my attention was entirely paid to taking pictures, the baby did not come out although I strained the muscles as hard as I could. As I reflected that the baby's life was the most important, I tried to forget about the camera and put all my energies in giving birth. Finally the doctor said, “It's coming out.” Although I had been struggling with enormous pain as if I was being struck with an ax from inside, I grabbed my camera and focused between my legs. I pressed the shutter to take pictures of the baby coming out. The film was used up by the time the whole body of the baby was out, and I shouted out to my husband, “Change the film!” and to the doctor, “Please stay there!”