THE GUARDIAN
By Sean O'Hagan
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| Chinese new year revellers throw molten iron at the city walls in Hebei province, from Kawauchi’s Halo. |
Rinko Kawauchi came to prominence in 2001 with the simultaneous publication of three photography books:
Utatane (Japanese for catnap),
Hanabi (fireworks) and
Hanako (after the young girl who is the subject). Throughout, images of Buddhist ceremonies and rituals suggested an earthly cycle connected to the mysteries of time and transience through deep spiritual devotion. In all of this, Rinko Kawauchi is a singular presence in contemporary photography, both for her sustained pursuit of the quotidian sublime and for the recent turn her work has taken towards a much more searching, almost visionary, evocation of the Earth, the heavens and all points between. [
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| Moonlight on waves, from Kawauchi’s Halo. Photograph: Rinko Kawauchi |
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| World of wonders: Rinko Kawauchi captures the murmuration of migratory birds in an image from Halo. Photograph: Rinko Kawauchi |
