コウフクロン 2022−2023 (Documentary)
KOUFUKURON - Eudaemonics
"A Theory of Happiness"
PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE PARIS 2023, Bronze Awarded
Photobook published by 89Books, Italy For Japan AMAZON JAPAN
For Europe 89Books
Photobook published by 89Books, Italy For Japan AMAZON JAPAN
For Europe 89Books
A Theory of Happiness
Japanese society has a high suicide rate, with many overworked and exhausted people and single-person households. In recent years, laws regarding mental health have finally been established, but still, many people are screaming in pain. While some people desire their happiness and are in the midst of it, others only feel the emptiness of the word "happiness. Others suffer from painful emotions such as loneliness, lack of love, loss, alienation, depression, and jealousy. Our vision becomes narrowed when we are trapped in endless, barren emotions. Without realizing it, they choke on themselves, always lamenting about their unhappiness, pushing people away, and letting the feeling of wanting to die take over their minds. However, the world is a "representation" of what we see, and depending on what perspective and will we have, we can see the world differently. To make this possible, I take a social-psychological approach to the events I see in my photographs and find the relationship between them and society. The idea is to have a social point of view rather than a first-person perspective. This means recognizing diversity, allowing people to be as they are, and feeling that everything in the world is fragile and beautiful. I believe that this “Acceptance of Impermanence” and a conscious shift in perspective to the Japanese aesthetic of “MONO-NO-AWARE“ is the path to human happiness.
人は自身の幸福を望み、その幸福感の中にある人もいれば、幸福という言葉に虚しさを感じるのみで、孤独や愛の欠乏、喪失、疎外、憂鬱、嫉妬といった辛い感情に苦しむ人もいます。
際限なく不毛な感情に囚われてしまうと、視野が狭くなっていきます。そして気が付かないままに自分で自分の首を締めていき、いつも不幸だと嘆いては人を遠ざけ、負の感情が頭の中を支配して行きます。
しかし、世界というものは自分が見ている「表象」であり、どのような視点と意志を持つかによって、異なる世界をみることができるということでもあります。これを可能にするために、私はそこに写っている事象に対して社会的、心理的な考察をすることによって、それと社会との関係性を見い出すという手法をとっています。それは、一人称の視点ではなく、社会から見た視点を持たせることです。これは多様性を認知すること、人の様を許すこと、世の中の全ては儚く美しいものだと感じることであります。この「無常感」と日本の美意識である「もののあはれ」への意識的な視点の転換が、人が幸福になる道であると考えます。