Sacha Dumain

Rêves japonais (2014-2018) (Japanese dreams)

One of the first Japanese characters I learnt was YUME, dream. When I saw the magnificent calligraphy YUME stored in the Kodai-ji temple in Kyoto, I was deeply moved by its beauty. The first photograph is in fact, a painted copy of that famous calligraphy on a film. I remembered that Japan has always been, unconsciously, and since my early childhood, the country of dreams and fantasies. People of my generation may also share this feeling as we almost all watched Japanese anime and dreamt about stories of samurai or dishonored ladies.

Japan is a world I haven't understood yet and might never fully apprehend. Even now, though I speak the language, I am still a foreigner and I won't be able to list how many times I misbehaved or completely didn't understand the Japanese manners, culture or people's emotions. That's why I decided to show what I dream about Japan instead of trying to look for the truth (or just reality? as in a photo-documentary) of a cultural world which remains very attractive, erotic and mysterious to me.

I used various techniques. From classical to the most experimental ones (painting on the negatives, burning them, adding acid and other substances on them, etc...) to achieve this project. Japanese traditional themes were also treated but in a way to be closer to feelings and sensuality than to landscapes you can find on a banal postcard of an exotic country.

If you want to use one of these photos, please credit my name and a link to that page.
© Sacha Dumain