Year: 2013
Medium: gelatin silver print
Dimensions: image size : 42.5 x 54.2 cm (16 3/4 x 21 3/8 in.) sheet size : 47.9 x 57.8 cm (18 7/8 x 22 3/4 in.)
Edition: No. 18 of 25
Acquired from Phillips, 2023
With the title naming the North Pacific Ocean but not Japan offshore, it reveals that Sugimoto’s eyes which were focused on the sea stretching out right in front of him, are casting a faraway look. As shown by the prolonged exposure, the trail of waves is striped in the image. The deep black sky suggests that the sunlight is below the horizon, while the white waves are illuminated by the light of stars and the moon. The horizon line seems to cut straight between the sky and the sea, conveying a dignified atmosphere of the ocean. The darkness deepens gradually on both sides of the photograph, with the horizon appearing to fade at both ends. While Sugimoto’s eyes are fixed on the ocean, his mind is dreaming of the universe. As Sugimoto says, “I realized that this land is a ball of water,” the horizon is indeed “the abyss of the water ball.” It overwhelms the human scale and appears to be a straight line, but strictly speaking, it should technically form an extremely gentle arc instead. Viewed from high above, the boundary between the sea and the sky is gradually replaced by the outline of stars, and the horizon that appears at that boundary is something relative. It may appear differently depending on the perspective and scale, but it is still the same thing. When looking at the bright water surface that meets the black sky in this work, it seems that Sugimoto’s mind is detached far beyond the time and space ahead of the horizon.
