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To my request, “Would you model for my photographs?†many elderly people respond, slightly abashed, “Now what in the world do you want to do with pictures of an old man, an old woman like me?†And yet once we get going, things move right along. I turn around to see they’ve already gotten some costume out of their wardrobe to show me. Then, you simply decide on a date for the shoot.
I started taking pictures of elderly people after being invited to do so by a friend. At the time, the only elderly person I was close to was my grandmother. We had always been close, but at times I’d feel a kind of disparity between us, perhaps from the generation difference, so that even though we were in the same room, it was like we were breathing different air. “What are old people like? What’s it like to be old?†With the kind of curiosity one might have towards a different species, my questions regarding the inevitable reality of old age, which would eventually come my way too, grew and grew.
Though I had embarked on this photography with rather ambiguous feelings, as I got to know more of them, I found myself being drawn into the intriguing appeal of these “old people.†Theirs was a beauty that starkly contrasts with fashion or other types of adroit, face-value beauty. I am not yet old enough to articulate clearly about what it means to grow old, but I imagine it to be the epoch of life’s maturation, full of serenity and gentleness.
In our aging society, while active contributions by the elderly are much celebrated, there are many others who struggle with troubles in both body and spirit. As the saying goes, “Longevity is a talent.†How challenging it must be to keep up one’s health, both spiritual and physical, and live with oneself for so long. My grandmother, who disliked anything dreary said, “In the old days, if you lived to eighty there was a big celebration. You would hire clowns and have huge festivities.†The stylish pose she struck for me then could have been a still from the final chapter, in which all the hardships and joys of life intermingle. The rich expressiveness emanating from her was polished smooth along the edges, rounded and pliant.
translation by ito haruna