Ontoshiki Biography

by Yu.

“Look, I’m not an intellectual – I just take pictures.” – Helmut Newton

Australian photographer, Ontoshiki is a pseudonym and a literal translation of the photographer’s Chinese name to Japanese. 温(i.e.warm) 俊 (i.e.excellence) 輝 (i.e. shining brightly ; in this case, “輝” ki as in “あきら” akira) 四季 (shiki) itself in Japanese also means “four seasons.”

He mainly shoots portraiture, events,documentary and editorials while his personal work focuses on documenting his inner thoughts and life in Japan including street photography,nude & erotica and urban elements. His next goal is to move to Paris, France in mid-2012 to further his photography studies in the prestigious Spéos Paris school of Photography. He is a regional contributor on Japantourist , a guest curator on Citypulse‘s citylab.cc site which promotes the best of modern art and photography and a judge on Viewbug photography website.

He was born in Malaysia with his ancestors roots from China and was raised in Australia. After several years working at Australian Universities and the Australian State Government in the area of financial systems, he decided that a change of scenery was needed. He moved to Tokyo, Japan in 2006 and while working in the education industry, discovered photography documenting life in Japan. Eventually, he turned this burning passion into freelancing.

His main themes for his personal work focus on life, death, alienation, lust and love and the exploration of the urban environment, elements and the human psyche and body. He is on a search for truth , a deeper understanding of one’s inner universe (as well as the outer), the connect between spiritualism and existential ennui, and the meaning and aesthetic of beauty.

fascinated by. the cinematic, nostalgic, poetic, enigmatic, unknown, unpredictable, dark and sinister. drawn to. dreams, symbolism, the cryptic nature of photography i.e. the way it conveys moods, perceptions and feelings beyond the need for lexicon and how colors affect mood and feelings. trudging through the banalities of life to find meaningful symbolism and connections through self-introspection.

He admires the Japanese aesthetics of Yūgen (a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe… and the sad beauty of human suffering) and Wabi-sabi (transcience i.e. imperfect, incomplete, impermanent) such as fading autumn leaves, falling sakura petals and flawed beauty.

“To watch the sun sink behind a flower clad hill. To wander on in a huge forest without thought of return. To stand upon the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands. To contemplate the flight of wild geese seen and lost among the clouds. And, subtle shadows of bamboo on bamboo.” - Zeami Motokiyo

Some of his influences and inspiration include Nobuyoshi Araki, Kishin Shinoyama, Christopher Doyle, Wong Kar Wai, Akira Kurosawa, Daido Moriyama, Goyo Hashiguchi, Wing Shya, D.Arbus, Seamus Murphy, H.Cartier Bresson, R.Doisneau,R.Cappa, Irving Penn, E.Munch, Van Gogh, L.Davinci, Vilhelm Hammershoi, J.Nachtwey, Kaoru Izima, Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, Yasuji Watanabe, Shoji Ueda, Tim Burton, Miike Takashi, Helmut Newton, Peter Lindbergh, Miyamoto Musashi.

Many years ago, a friend of mine was reading a book about people’s personality types and told me that i was an introvert. not fully knowing what that meant, i was in denial and was even slightly offended. several years later, i have understood myself better as a person and fully embrace that i am one.

“contrary to what most people think, an introvert is not simply a person who is shy. In fact, being shy has little to do with being an introvert! Shyness has an element of apprehension, nervousness and anxiety, and while an introvert may also be shy, introversion itself is not shyness. Basically, an introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people. Introverts are more concerned with the inner world of the mind. They enjoy thinking, exploring their thoughts and feelings. They often avoid social situations because being around people drains their energy. This is true even if they have good social skills. After being with people for any length of time, such as at a party, they need time alone to “recharge.” When introverts want to be alone, it is not, by itself, a sign of depression. It means that they either need to regain their energy from being around people or that they simply want the time to be with their own thoughts. Being with people, even people they like and are comfortable with, can prevent them from their desire to be quietly introspective. Being introspective, though, does not mean that an introvert never has conversations. However, those conversations are generally about ideas and concepts, not about what they consider the trivial matters of social small talk.

I’ve had times that I’ve been overly introspective that I feel like I am watching my life go by from inside a fishbowl. Inner anxieties act like a domino effect until I am able to grab a camera and focus on the world around me instead of in me.

“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free. ” – Arthur Schopenhauer

“We all die. the goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will” – Chuck Palahniuk

“…at a certain point you are, or, were alive. To be photographed is to be close to death or to be dead. Your image will outlast you.” – Nobuyoshi Araki

Ontoshiki’s thoughts:

Once, someone asked me rhetorically why I always analyzed everything. I responded, “I don’t know…I ask myself the same question all the time.”

“the mysterious allure of a person in urban architecture and landscape is a metaphor for social environment and sense of community. It may conjure thoughts and feelings of relationships manifesting in the form of intimacy, alienation,decay,deterioration or rejection”

“much like deep sea divers, going deep into the abyss is one way we can discover something interesting , beautiful and unseen…if you stay on the surface you will only see what everyone else sees.”

“sensualism in photography is tantamount to having an intimate dance with a woman; timing, technique,intricate body movements and forming a connection between you and your partner. “

“if only every fleeting moment in our inimitable lives can be captured on film, re-wound and re-collected.”

“use your eyes and ears in proportion; shoot, listen and share your vision of the world with others”

“sometimes i know i need to deal with my inner demons, but it’s easier to just take a photo and tell myself there’s an elephant in the room.”

“a paradox of beauty exists in that sadness can be found in beauty while beauty can be found in times of suffering.”

“passion and inspiration is like the universe. it starts with nothing, then suddenly explodes and grows exponentially; there are many dimensions and there is no end. passion much like the bubble we live in, will take you places you don’t understand and have never dreamed of.”

“i’m not so interested in seeing how a camera captures a scene… rather, i’m more interested in seeing how the person captures the mood of the moment through their feelings and emotions. i prefer impressionism, a blurry, oneiric film photo with mood and emotion; floating between my visions of dreams and my perception of reality.”

“photography represents fragments of my memory. i see beauty in how a portrait of a person can be immortalised forever. it is the only time when i can interfere with space and time and capture the essence of a certain moment, whatever it may be. it is the thrill of taking the film to the lab and the anticipation of what shows up when you hit the button on that scanner; then the post-processing and sharing. the whole process is what keeps my passion burning. it is for me, sometimes a teacher and a trigger for self-discovery and philosophical exploration.”

“be yourself, find your inner self, and lose the divided-self. forget about societal expectations of you; be that money, possessions or attitudes and behaviors. the moment you be the person others expect you to be is the moment your real self ceases to exist.”

“like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, our world is going through struggles. each and everyone of us are going through this metamorphosis. the sky may seem unreachable , but when we break out of our cocoon , the full potential of our species will be realized and we will be free to wonder ubiquitously and to love unconditionally”

“i have a love hate relationship with photography. photography has consumed my finances, my life and my relationships”

“i’m not the most technical person when it comes to photography but i shoot with my feelings, not an instruction manual. i favor a form of expressionism made famous by Alfred Stieglitz called ‘equivalence’ and the Japanese aesthetics of ‘wabi-sabi’ and ‘yugen’”

Official Website: www.ontoshiki.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ontoshikivun

Facebook: facebook.com/ontoshiki

Google Plus: gplus.to/ontoshiki

- Ontoshiki