Kei Ono Photo Book Portrait for me Kei Ono

Introduction (from the publisher)
The portrait series of high school students all over Japan, which the author has been shooting for over 20 years, is finally completed!

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This book also includes photos created by the magazine “Shabel”, which was edited by Mr. Ozaki.

I am not anyone yet.
But it’s too late when you notice that it’s irreplaceable.
The curse of shooting leaves only the cruel glare there,
Ask who you are.

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This book is the third photo book for the series following “Blue Light” (2006) and “New Text” (2013), and a high school student from all over Japan, which has been a photographer since 2002, as a subject.It is the culmination of the series.

Ono, especially the limited age of high school students, was a time when he was able to work hard about himself, and he thought that his appearance was fundamental as a person.So, I thought that shooting them would bring me a little closer to the answer to the big question, “What is a person?”

He recruits subjects on the web and SNS, receives contact from high school students who want to leave himself in photos, and goes nationwide regardless of the area.Then, in advance, he hears the motivation for the application and the desired location, and forms a photo while receiving their thoughts.The series continued with this series of exchanges.

This shoot, which has been continued without interruption for more than 20 years, was forced to interrupt in 2020 at the end of the series.It was due to the global pandemic of the new colon virus.
Photographers taking portraits cannot meet people.He said that he could fundamentally think about his significance as a photographer, and even at one point he wanted to stop taking pictures.
It was also a high school student who came out of such a situation and was triggered to resume shooting.

Students who have lost many opportunities, as well as school life, and have been strongly affected by the corona in Japanese society.When I witnessed that situation, I decided to resume my activities, thinking, “It would be good for someone somewhere to take their portrait at this time.”In 2022, the high school students who had experienced Corona were concentrated for about five months after self -restraint, and the series was completed.

I would like to record and capture the transition of the “Japanese landscape” by containing the “portrait” of each high school student and the “background” behind the person.
So, this series is a portrait for them, as well as portraits of the times.