HANAFUDA SHOUZOKU: FAQ
Your Hanafuda Shouzoku Questions, Answered.
The large, vibrant collages of decaying food by artist Shinya Masuda have invited many conversations, and questions, since they’ve been on view in the gallery. From “where are the originals,” to “what is a Hanafuda,” there’s plenty to talk about! We’ve gathered some answers from the artist and done some digging to give you a breakdown of the inspiration and process behind these magnetizing images.
Shinya Masuda, HANAFUDA SHOUZOKU #23. Archival Pigment Print on KYOKUSHI. INQUIRE
Is this a local artist?
HANAFUDA SHOUZOKU #9, featuring a wilted orange pepper, pink and white lilies, and a purple crescent moon. INQUIRE
Far from it. Shinya Masuda lives in Tokyo, Japan. We met him when he submitted work, which we later collected, for our annual open call exhibition, UnBound! We went on to feature some of the Hanafuda Shouzoku work virtually in 2020. We now have the honor of showing the physical works on the gallery walls through June 18th.
Masuda was born in 1965 in Nagoya, Japan. After studying French cuisine and working as a chef for 12 years, he decided to pursue photography. He studied Visual Communications Design at Nagano Art and Design School and worked at a design company as a commercial photographer. Trained by renowned photographer HASHi, he now works as a professional photographer in Tokyo. His work has been exhibited internationally and in 2018 he participated in the World Photo Festival in Italy and Contemporary Photography Biennale in Paris.
Wow, these are beautiful. Where are the originals?
These are the originals. Hanafuda Shouzoku is a photographic series by way of digital collage. That oil painting texture is a beautiful side effect of the paper the artist uses for his prints.
What camera is being used?
Masuda shoots with both Pentax and Hasselblad cameras, but used a Pentax 645D for this particular project.
Are these made with Photoshop?
HANAFUDA SHOUZOKU #17 shows the artist’s use of cut paper and metal in his compositions. INQUIRE
Yes, but a lot is done in-camera as well.
Masuda keeps note of ideas based on certain combinations of colors, foods, and florals, and will pick from this list to sketch out a composition to shoot. He creates strips of colored paper or metal ribbons from coffee cans, which he suspends or wraps around the food, and uses cut-paper sun and moon shapes attached to wire. Kenzan (a flower arrangement tool) is used to fix fresh flowers in place. Any wildlife or trees are photographed separately from the still life compositions.
Masuda enlarges the images in Photoshop and uses the pen tool on a very meticulous scale. Though Photoshop is advanced enough to make auto-selections, he chooses to cut out the shapes “stitch by stitch” to guarantee they’re as clean as possible. He refers to this process lovingly, likening the process to the patchwork his grandmother used to do.
Shinya Masuda talks about the making of HANAFUDA SHOUZOKU #58: “It took me about half a year to cut out the plum blossom leaflets and plum trees for the white-eyes and watermelons. Pine branches are also very difficult to cut, and I hate it as much as climbing a steep mountain, but it is strange that I feel like trying again.” INQUIRE
The isolated images are placed on predetermined background colors and artificial shadows are added. Masuda loves the way that the viewer’s perception of space becomes challenged between the photographic and graphic elements of the composition. He says that it is only natural that we perceive the images in front of us to be closer and those behind us to be farther away, because we perceive the world in three dimensions. The compositional process adds artificial discomfort to the image, but makes it look almost natural by maintaining order.
The color in these images is amazing! What are they printed on?
Masuda uses a paper by Pictran called Kyokushi, named for the fiber from which it is made. Kyokushi paper is a durable, unbleached washi paper made for Japanese legal documents (and art prints) by the Paper Making Department of the Printing Bureau established by the Ministry of Finance in 1875. The paper was called "bureau-gami" in Japanese. It became popular internationally after exposure during the Paris World’s Fair in 1878. The photo paper itself features a unique glass powder coating which provides a transparent layer on which to print, preserving the color of the inks and giving the paper a sheen resembling an oil painting.
What print sizes are available?
There are three sizes of prints in this series: 29.6 x 23.6, and 60 x 44 inches. Candela Gallery currently has an inventory of (almost) all 60 Hanafuda images in the series in both the smallest and middling sizes, with only about 4 of the largest size. The prints are editioned at 10, 3, and 2 from smallest to largest.
What’s the story behind the food? Is this being wasted for photographs?
Masuda talks about the subject of the images:
“All of these are food sent to me by my mother who lives in my hometown. She takes pity on me living alone in Tokyo and sends me more food than I need. Some of them are canned coffee, bottled asparagus, pickles in Ziplocs...I couldn't eat it all by myself, so I let it go bad...
I felt sorry for the people who sent me the food and the food that was wasted, and this series began. I feel that the series has been strengthened by reaffirming the traditions, history, customs, and identity in a unique way that shows the beauty of the supreme love that people have for each other.”
You can read more about the story of the project’s inception here.
Some of the food appears to have been frozen. Was this the case?
“I sometimes froze them to preserve their shape, and sometimes I froze them because I couldn't stand the smell.”
What does the title mean?
Hanafuda are small Japanese playing cards divided into 12 suits, each representing a month of the year. The cards feature different plants for each suit, with four cards per suit. Along with plants, the cards are decorated with various animals, figures, symbols, and colorful strips of paper called tanzaku. Hanafuda have been in Japan since the 1500s and are used to play a variety of games.
*Fun Fact: Nintendo was originally founded for the purpose of creating Hanafuda (which they still do, in Japan).
Shouzoku has to do with decoration (costumes, landscaping, furnishings). So, basically the title translates to “Decorative Hanafuda.”
How does Hanafuda relate to the food?
“... I stared down at the veggies lying in the box, which now became their coffin. The sight pained me, but at the same time, it reminded me of my late grandmother’s pet phrase, ‘all things must pass.’
Once their time in this world has passed, all life loses form. That’s only natural. While recognizing that providence, I also yearned to capture the remnants of love that my mother must have sent along with those items. The veggies’ value as foodstuffs may be lost, but a piece of my mother’s heart must linger still. Before even that vanished, I wanted to embalm those rotten foods for a proper send-off.”
“The combination of the cards such as ‘a drink over cherry blossom’ expresses some of the Japanese heritage of enjoying ephemeral beauty particular to that month or the season. The grandmother who taught me the concept of impermanence also taught me how to play the game of Hanafuda. The seasonal foodstuffs from my mother will depart, dressed in motifs from Hanafuda I played with my late grandmother. I remain in this world to capture the moment when my mother’s love transforms from ‘a matter of love’ to ‘a record of love.’”
