BOUQUET FOR THE SUNSET U'VE NEVER SEEN /// SHO NIKAIDO

Not only did I not finish the graduate program at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, but I also stopped photographing. Instead, music became my focus; music was what I wanted to do, and I thought I would never go back to photography.

But many years later, things were going differently than I wanted. I went through a divorce, and my music was not going anywhere. I was broke, working at a coffee shop, and feeling lost.

One day, I was wandering around my tiny apartment and found the 35mm film camera I used to use. It fit in my hand perfectly, just as it had before. Then, slowly but surely, my life with a camera began again.

The title “Bouquet for the Sunset U’ve Never Seen” came to my mind when I visited my home in Japan several years ago. My hometown is a beach town, and I grew up by the ocean. One day during my stay, there was this beautiful sunset at the beach, and I wished I could show it to the people I had met in the United States. I had known some of them for over twenty years, and many of them had become very important to me, but none had ever seen my home, and I wanted to share it with them.

This photo series is the world I see, and it’s a gift to the people I’ve met. My purpose here is to communicate through memories and thoughts I once shared with them. I thank all those people, and it would be nice if these photographs bring them a smile.

Everyday memories, dreams, and realities suddenly disappear and appear elsewhere. Moments are fragile every day, and time never stops. This is an obvious thing to say, but I’m glad to realize it through photography.

Summer, 2018.