YOSHI OKAMOTO / Japan
Yoshi Okamoto joined an advertising agency as an assistant photographer after working in the sculpture department at Tama Art University. She subsequently travelled and lived a 'life of photography' in over 55 countries after leaving the company. Upon returning to Japan, she worked as a photographer for a publisher, and currently, she is actively working as a freelance photographer in Tokyo.
She has participated in many international photo festivals and has received several awards in international contests.
Cross the River
My father crossed the river at 17:45 on November 1, 2020.
The other side of the river is only an imaginary world that no one knows. I can only imagine the other side of the river. Where will my father go? In ancient Greek mythology, it is also called the "Styx River", and there is an idea that the modern and post-mortem worlds are separated by a river. Buddhism also says that the dead cross the river. I asked a monk what was in the posthumous world, but he only told me that it was boring. Finally, I was able to say goodbye to my father and see him off across the river.
Seeing his ashes, I felt that my father has offloaded a lot from his shoulders, and I felt bright in front of him.
Cross the RIver comprises a two-part presentation - monochrome images to begin until the end of the rituals and death, and colour that returns to everyday life.
Chronology of images
・ Several days when my father is dying
・ Imagine if there is a river ahead of death
・ The moment my father crosses the river
・ Our rituals following
・ My life for 45 days after my father became ashes
The colour images are a diary of my life which is offered to my father at the judgment of the trial whether he can go to Sukhavati Jodo for 45 days from his father's ashes to the 49th day.
