(Signed) Distant Lights by Yukihito Kono

An artist book by Japanese photographer Kono Yukito.

This work was created based on several images of darkness that Kono found in his archives. These photographs were taken in a park late at night during a visit to Basel, Switzerland, showing that the photoshoot ended in failure. Kono searched for stars in the darkness and adjusted the exposure, but all he saw were particles that could not be distinguished from stars or digital noise. Meanwhile, countless stars were shining in his memory, and the lack of compatibility between those memories/experiences and the photographs that remained as records prompted him to reconsider the nature of photography as a record. Photographs capture things that cannot be captured by the human eye and perception, but at the same time, there are many things that are not captured. In such an ambiguous state, we repeat interpretation and understanding, and form new memories based on the images that remain. After much reflection, Kono created this book from photographs taken in Europe, mainly in London, where he once lived, which is geographically far away from Kanazawa, where he is currently based, and which is also getting further away from him in terms of memory and time every day. The minimalist design, choice of paper, and hand-made traces all accentuate the delicacy and fragility of the images.

Third edition of 100 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist.

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Title: Distant Lights
Artist: Yukihito Kono
Self published, January 2023 (First edition in 2015, second edition in 2022)
Pigment inkjet print on Japanese rough paper
Softcover, hand glue binging
182 x 130 x 10 mm
106 pages
Third edition of 100 copies, signed and numbered by the artist
¥5,000 -