Encounters with photography and skateboarding.

ー Skateboarding and photography have been an integral part of who you are today. Can you tell us about your first encounter?

HAL: When I was in junior high school, a skater friend who was a year older than me took me to a skate store called “INSTANT” in Kichijoji. I was fascinated by skateboarding there, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I wasn’t very good at first, but I started to meet more and more skaters of my age. Skating with my friends was simply fun, so I skated almost every day.

ー Did you also start taking pictures around that time?

HAL: I grew up in a house where my father’s cameras were lying around, so I naturally became interested in photography. I actually started taking pictures by myself when I was in junior high school, and at first I was playing around taking pictures of my skater friends. I was also influenced by a skateboard magazine called “WHEEL”.

ー “WHEEL” is one of the pioneer skateboard magazines in Japan, isn’t it? Now it continues to be published under the name “Sb”. But in your generation, “WHEEL” was already discontinued, wasn’t it?

HAL: Yes, so I encountered it later. My father was good friends with the editor-in-chief, and we had many copies of “WHEEL” at home. When I saw the photos of skateboarding in the magazine, I thought it would be great if I could take such photos myself. I remember how excited I was to see the pages of photos of skaters looking their coolest.

ー So that was the original experience that led to the connection between photography and skateboarding. After graduating from high school, you went to San Francisco, right?

HAL: I spent some time vaguely skateboarding after graduating from high school. I thought it would be better to go abroad rather than stagnating in Japan. Also, I was watching skate videos about San Francisco like “PIER 7” and “Penal Code 100a” at the time, and I wanted to experience the steep slopes that every skater dreams of. I went to San Francisco on a whim with no idea what to expect.

ー What was your life like in San Francisco?

HAL: I made friends as soon as I got there and basically was absorbed in skateboarding every day. But I still had a lot of spare time, so I decided to go to a local photography school.

ー What’s your impression of the local school?

HAL: I managed to graduate, but if you ask me what I learned, it’s difficult to say. I ended up skipping school all the time. Maybe it’s because I have a tendency to be hyperactive, and it’s not in my nature to learn what I like in lecture style lessons. I felt that the most natural way for me was to shoot the way I wanted to.

ー There are a lot of self-taught people in the world of art and photography, aren’t there?

HAL: That’s why for a while I was thinking of belonging to a photographer’s agency in San Francisco. But I decided to return to Japan after about two and a half years because I first wanted to do what I had left to do in Japan.

Artwork that cannot be described as “photography”

ー After you came back to Japan, you started your career based in Tokyo.

HAL: That’s correct. My life itself didn’t change that much after I came back to Japan, and I was making new zines and working part-time to make ends meet. Then, when the photos I took started to accumulate, an acquaintance introduced me to a gallery and the gallery suggested that I should have an exhibition there. It was a gallery called AL in Daikanyama. But at the time, I didn’t know how to prepare or exhibit, and looking back now, it was a pretty rough exhibition (laughs).

ー This was your memorable first solo exhibition. Since then, you’ve had more and more opportunities for solo exhibitions.

HAL: Every time I did an exhibition, I made new discoveries and met more people, and that gave birth to the next opportunity. I was able to hold exhibitions at venues like “4K GALLERY” and “SALT AND PEPPER”. Company owners or skate store staff that I’m good friends with bought my works as well. It felt a bit strange to see the photos and works that I created as personal pleasure spreading more and more to the world.

ー Many people think of your panoramic collage works when they think of you, HAL. Can you tell us how you came to this technique?

HAL: I was influenced by a book of David Hockney’s works that I found in a bookstore I stopped by when I was in San Francisco. He was my favorite artist from when I was in Japan, and I used to look at his art books at my parents’ house. When I first saw the photo collages in his book “Cameraworks”, I was shocked and wondered how he did it. At the same time, I was moved by the realization that there are no rules in how to approach things, and that everyone is different. I had been taking single photos for a long time, but since then I started making collages adding my own arrangements to the technique and created my style through trial and error.

ー When you create, do you take pictures with an image of the finished product before taking them, or do you take pictures without a plan and then make collages to create them?

HAL: I do both. There are times when I look at scenery, I suddenly think it will be interesting to make a panoramic collage of it, and I take aim and click the shutter button several times. There are also times when I take photos casually and end up making a panorama collage with them. I enjoy the process and the time it takes to make a panorama collage more than I enjoy the quality of each photograph. I sometimes feel that maybe my work can’t be described as “photography”.

ー It’s probably more graphic than general photography. By the way, are there any other artists who have influenced you?

HAL: Although I take photos for a living, I’m not a typical photographer, so there aren’t many artists who have influenced me. If anything, music and novels have had a stronger influence on me. In terms of those fields, Jun Miura and Ramo Nakajima are my favorite artists. Jun Miura is exhilarating as an artist, and Ramo Nakajima makes me cry when I listen to his old radio show on the way home after getting drunk. If he were still alive today, I’m sure we would have become friends.

ー There are a lot of novels on your desk, including their books.

HAL: I used to not be good at reading, but recently I’ve finally learned to read properly. I like Haruki Murakami and Ryu Murakami　as well. I’ve been reading various types of books. Recently, I’ve also been writing down words in a notebook. When I write down the stories, settings, and words that come into my head, it sometimes gives me hints for my next work or exhibition. When I make zines, I include words as much as photos.

You can grow along with your work.

ー Could you tell us about the art show that is currently being held at BEAMS T HARAJUKU? What kind of thought did you put into the title “Mild Punch”?

HAL: When I was wondering what to title the exhibition, I was talking with a friend, and the phrase “Heibon Punch” suddenly came up. The phrase stuck in my mind for a long time, and when I looked it up, I found that it was the title of an old magazine. I couldn’t use the phrase as it was, so I changed it to katakana and changed it to “mild punch.” The meaning hasn’t changed that much, and I thought it would fit my current mood. It’s a bit of an afterthought, but I thought it could also be a counter-message to the people of today who mistakenly believe that the current peace will continue forever without them doing anything.

ー Is it usual for you not to give meaning to your works or exhibitions?

HAL: I have never really liked to give meaning to my photos or works. Of course, there are some works that have an aim or intention, but I’d rather leave it to the viewer’s sensibility. That’s why my past exhibitions were usually presented as “untitled” or something like that. But one day, the lady who runs the gallery told me that “untitled” also means “untitled,” and I had an epiphany. I realized that in this world, even something as simple as “untitled” can have a meaning.

ー What would you like people to pay attention to in this exhibition?

HAL: In the past, I have only made panoramic collages of photographs pasted on canvas. This time, I put a little ingenuity by making frames that match the shapes of the works. I want people to see the growth of these works, and I would be happy if I could share my new discoveries with those who come to see the show.

ー In listening to your talk, I felt that you yourself are growing along with your work.

HAL: That may be true. In the beginning, I was making works without really thinking about anything, but as they gradually left my hands, new perspectives were added. I feel that I am becoming an adult as my environment and sense of values gradually change without changing my fundamental mind.

ー In addition to your artworks, skateboard decks and apparel goods are on display and for sale.

HAL: I’ve always loved skateboarding, so I was really happy to make a deck with my work printed on it. I was also very lucky to be able to make that many different kinds of clothes. I’d be thrilled to see clothes and decks with my artwork on them on the street.