X-RAY 2, JAPAN

Time in the aquarium

At the Kaiyūkan in Ōsaka, dimly lit by warm light, people stand in the semi-darkness. As if looking at a giant blue screen, they are spellbound by what is happening behind the cool glass in the gigantic whale shark tank. Only a pane of glass separates visitors to one of the largest aquariums in the world from the masses of water weighing tons and the habitat that is fascinating and alien to us. Their bodies seem to become transparent as they pass, as if X-rays were shining through them.

Encounter of worlds

Fish and sea meet people and air. The two worlds, separated only by a mighty pane of glass, could not be more different. One ignores or marvels at the other. But at the same time it becomes clear how closely interwoven all being on our planet is. How vulnerable this system of mutual dependencies is!

But there is another way

Just as we cannot breathe like a fish under water, we do not understand many strange things. Many things we cannot believe and yet they are real.

Sensitivity of the worlds

We are part of a system that would not function without symbiotic dependencies. Nevertheless, it is often difficult to empathize with foreign worlds. X-Ray is a work rich in contrasts, which in a multi-layered way knows how to depict the contrariness and sensitivity of our lives. The balanced colors of this photograph and the incipient transparency of the people dissolving into light over time compose existences and elements in an abstract way.