Year: 2018
Medium: chromogenic print
Dimensions: 120 x 150 cm (47 1/4 x 59 in.)
Edition: No.1 of 5
Acquired from Taka Ishii Gallery, 2022
As the title suggests, this work is a “water mirror” that seems to have scooped up the smooth green surface of the lake with all its light. The “water mirror” series, photographed in large-format film, captures the trees on the water surface and the actual forest in detail by its rich amount of information. However, the view presented in the photographic prints must be different from what Suzuki saw in that moment. The scenery captured through the optical device of a camera does not necessarily align with human vision. The shutter is released at an appropriate speed by the vision corresponding to the magnification of the lens, the focus set on a random area, and the calculated exposure. The captured scenery intersects with the artist’s eyes only after undergoing the process of development. The result is not necessarily the same as what the artist saw with his eyes, but the scenery that existed at that location as seen through the camera, which is a different phase from that of the human eye. Suzuki’s “water mirror” series is created in such a way of perceiving the world. His photography liberates viewers from the deception of believing that what we touched and saw is the truth. As in the anecdote of Narcissus, the water mirror is the beginning of a perspective that is not one’s own. When we look at the scenery reflected on the water surface, we encounter the paradox that this world is both real and imaginary, while opening an unknown vision that does not belong to us. Then, Suzuki’s “water mirror” urges us to believe that is yet a beautiful thing. The work was exhibited in “Photography and Painting - From Cézanne SHIBATA TOSHIO & SUZUKI RISAKU” at the Artizon Museum in 2022.
