This project is about vulnerable children and their struggle for mental health and developing identity. MAKIKO has worked with The Island that mentors the youth through art activities in York. All the children involved have experienced early life trauma or pre-existing mental challenges. The conceptualisation of this project coincided with the national lockdowns. Her region was particularly hard hit. This in turn has had a profound impact on these children's lives. It also placed meaningful restrictions on how she needed to approach her work and the necessity of an innovative solution to comply with regulations. MAKIKO provided the children with disposable cameras to shoot their everyday life. The early part of her photo shooting was carried out remotely during lockdown to document what they were doing and thinking at home. As a result, it became a transmedia project - MAKIKO was the conduit of her subjects' stories, revealing their lived experience of isolation and shifting identities through her audio, film and still images. She had woven together a timely and historically relevant narrative, acting as a facilitator for the youth who became co-authors in creating their "scenes".
Her proiect is an example of how artists and subiects can work together. The exhibition has potential to invite further dialogue about mental health and identity among the youth as well as acts as a historical record of our times.
MAKIKO won art grant from Art Council England to work on this project. She was a recent mentee at Magnum Photos and this project is featured on Magnum Photo’s website.
Since 2008, MAKIKO had been working on the book project titled "Beautifully Different". This is a collaboration with Dr. Rebecca Landa, the founder and director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) at the renowned Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) in Maryland, U.S.A. Proceeds go to her research on autism and related disorders. It was published in U.K. on 28th August 2014.
In addition to that, Nihon Bungeisha, a Tokyo publisher, re-published the Japanese version in March 2016.
"This is a wonderful book that is both extremely personal and very informative; it touches the heart but also expands ones awareness of the great intellectual and emotional breadth and capacity of children with autism spectrum disorders. The format of pictures and biographical narrative conveys in a very strong and emotional way the wonder and the beauty of living and working with children on the spectrum. Bravo!!"
John T Walkup, MD
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine: Northwestern University
Head, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Lurie Children's Hospital
"I think this story is an important one, and your images and words convey it beautifully."
Andrew Solomon
Professor of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University
Author of Far From the Tree and finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize
Collection: British Library, Cambridge University, National Library of Scotland, National Library of Wales, Oxford University, Trinity College Dublin, Wellcome Collection, Tate Library (Martin Parr Collection), etc.
Copyright MAKIKO/WVIL 2020
All rights reserved.
This book is designed by Bill Procter from billproctercreativeconsultancy.
www.billprocter.com
MAKIKO continues to capture timeless images of the city of York although it has changed significantly due to the political and economic uncertainty since the EU referendum. Now it faces the Covid-19 pandemic - the unprecedented challenge at a global scale. Although there were lots of constraints at the beginning of the project for obvious reasons, however, MAKIKO has been trying to capture emotionally charged images of adults in her community, which respond to alienation caused by nationwide lockdown as well as self-isolation for vulnerable people with underlying health issues. (This is a long-term project.)
MAKIKO lives in the city centre of York. Since she moved in from a Swiss town 11 years ago, appearance of York has changed significantly, particularly due to political and economical uncertainty caused by aftermath of EU referendum. Brexit…shift of business…increase of rental cost…change of life styles of general public…change of generation among shop owners…and people! Contrast between daytime and night time. This project is a long term project.
MAKIKO heard that Sólheimajökull (the outlet of the largest glacier Mýrdalsjökull) has been disappearing. Visited the glacier, which is located between Katla and Eyjafjallajökull volcanoes, as well as surrounding areas in southern Iceland. This Koori Project is suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the 3rd island themed project for her.
The image won British Journal of Photography International Photography Awards in 2020 and was exhibited at Seen Fifteen Gallery in April-May 2021.
Copyright MAKIKO/WVIL
In October 2016, MAKIKO made a pilgrimage to the uninhabited Japanese island of Nozaki, which has been gradually deserted since mid 60’s. She was intrigued with a saga of ‘Hidden’ Christians who settled on the island in early 19th century, practicing Christianity in secret for decades (while the country was closed for any foreign trade and cultural exchanges) and a century later they had their own churches for worship but then left.
Her Black & White images follow her spiritual journey through the mountain trail where Christians walked regularly between late 19th and mid-20th century to attend Mass. Whilst trekking, she captures wild Kyushu deer and trees in the wild forest as well as the unusual landscape, influenced by the volcanic activities and the harsh climate.
Further information
It would be interesting to know what Nozakijima looks like in colour by viewing its promotional video made by Sasebo Tourism Convention, a local government agency.
The uninhabited Japanese Island of Gunkanjima (also known as Battleship Island) and since 2015 registered as an UNESCO world heritage site, is the subject for MAKIKO’s photo series entitled “BATTLESHIP ISLAND”. (Previously called “Paradise Revisited”)
This series, consists of 700+ monochrome photographs, captures childhood memories of this island, which has been abandoned and untouched for over 40 years. The island recently appeared as a haunting backdrop in the 007 movie ‘Skyfall’, representing the evil home of villain, Raoul Silva.
In Summer 2015 MAKIKO was granted rare permission by Nagasaki City to visit the restricted zone, in order to show how it is now and to remember how it was 40 years ago, through the memories of a former resident who was from a mining family and spent a happy childhood on the island, leaving at the age of 13.
Shooting from his perspective as a child, MAKIKO has produced a beautiful and powerful photo essay, which recalls priceless memories of a time spent in what was once a childhood paradise.
The island of Gunkamjina used to be an industrial metropolis. It was known for its coal mine and was bought by Mitsubishi in 1890 who began extracting coal from undersea mines. In 1916, the company built Japan's first large 7 storey concrete building, choosing concrete specifically to protect against typhoon destruction.
In 1960, population on the island reached its peak of 5,267 inhabitants, making it one of the most densely crowded places on earth, but when petroleum replaced coal in Japan in the 1960s, the coal mines started shutting down and Mitsubishi closed its mine in 1974. The residents were asked to leave within three months and as leaving ships could not accommodate all their possessions, many of them left their belongings inside of their homes. As a result, the island is caught in a time capsule.
MAKIKO’s photographs were taken just after the City received its UNESCO World Heritage status. The focus was on the outside spaces (the buildings were to unstable to enter) and the project shows some of the places where children played, including the school and playground, tennis courts, flats occupied by teaching staff, the hospital, the walk to the park. She has also capture some of the imaginative Japanese graffiti. The photographs are accompanied by a narrative story as remembered by former resident, helping to bring these vivid scenes to life.
This series was published as BATTLESHIP ISLAND by Dewi Lewis Publishing in January 2018.
The image of Battleship Island from the water shown on the Projects page won Honorary Mention at Open Call of Life Framer, October 2020.
“This is an image of Battleship Island, an abandoned mining facility off the coast of Southern Japan which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. With distant framing and desaturisation to bring out the pale grey tones, sea fading into sky, Makiko gives the image a sense of eeriness and otherworldliness, emphasizing the idea of it slowly fading in time. It paints the island like a distant memory – strange and magical and just out of reach.”