Scenes of Absence

Scenes of Absence is a photobook by Yuhki Touyama made during the time she cared for her late grandmother at home. Two ways of seeing are woven together: color landscapes taken on short trips to the shops, and black-and-white views of the garden imagined through her grandmother's eyes. Her grandmother herself never appears. Published by Akaaka Art Publishing in 2024.

The story behind the book

The photographs were taken during the pandemic, in a closed-in life of home care. The few minutes spent going out for groceries became a needed breath, and she photographed the light and color she met on the way. In between, she photographed the garden from the window of her grandmother's room, imagining the view of someone who could no longer leave the house and who said she was seeing things.

The gap between the time of the person giving care and the person receiving it shows clearly in the pages. The photographs that remain speak of absence, and also became a way for Touyama to keep talking with her grandmother.

What is in the book

• Color landscapes and black-and-white garden views, mixed throughout
• A cover where color and black-and-white images show through each other

About Yuhki Touyama

Born in 1983 in Chiba, Touyama graduated from Tokyo Visual Arts. She prints her own work in a home darkroom and photographs things that cannot be seen, such as life and death, time and presence. Her first photobook, Kyokaisen 13 (Akaaka, 2008), dealt with the loss of a friend.