Interview with Pawel Jaszczuk, conducted by Gunther Dietrich,
director of the gallery in Dec. 2010
Photo Edition Berlin (PEB): How long do you live in Japan and why did you
choose Japan, whilst you were born and raised in Poland?
Pawel Jaszczuk (PJ): I did not choose Japan, you could say that Japan did
choose me. When I was studying Arts in Australia i met Reiko, who is my wife
now. And at this time I was thinking about what to do and where to go after
being finished with university, so it just happened that we landed in Japan. My
wife is Japanese and she wanted to go back to Japan and I followed her. I was
never planning this, I just went with the flow. Now I enjoy Japan a lot and I am
living here for already about 6 years.
I left Poland in 2001. That was a time when I could enjoy my life and explore
the world. A friend of mine loved Australia and wanted me to come down there.
I came and stayed and studied Visual Arts there.
PEB: Why are you a photographer?
PJ: Basically I am more into pantings than photography, but i became
photographer because I have to be on the move all the time. I can not stay in
the studio and be at the computer all the time, I need to move. Photography
gave me the opportunity to always be on the move.
PEB: From your pictures we can see that you are usually on the move at night
time...
PJ: Yes, I am definitely a night person. Today i woke up at 3 a.m. I can find my
motives in the night.
PEB: Can you tell us the story about the series „Sleeping Train“?
PJ: The whole project started in 2004. It was the beginning of my friendship
with Japan. When I came here i was curious about everything. One early
morning i decided to visit the fish market. So I went into the train. There were
25 people and they were all sleeping. And I checked the other trains, too, and
almost everywhere everyone were asleep there, too. I thought that this is
amazing. And there I shoot the first photographs. This is a really common
picture, sleeping people in trains.
PEB: Did the people you photograph wake up some time and see you
photographing them or did you get in trouble photographing them sometimes?
PJ: I never got in any trouble at all. Some people from the train companies
approach me and say that I have to stop photographing them. But I can not
because there is no way someone can tell me to stop what I do. I only have this
one life and when I want to shoot the pictures, I do this. If I stop making
pictures I do not get the pictures I want. I do really respect the people I
photograph and I think they look just beautiful. The train is a really public space
but they cut themselves out there and just sleep, phenomenal. I take
photographs for the visual effect, which is really important for me, I take
photos of those people because I am interested in HOW they look like, not WHY.
PEB: Have you shown your photographs in Japan? What do Japanese people
think about it?
PJ: I showed them to all my Japanese friends and other Japanese foreigners. I
got more negative opinions from foreigners than Japanese people. Japanese
people can laugh about themselves, they can understand what I do and have a
certain distance to themselves, it is not offending for them. The very traditional
parents of my wife just think it is funny and realistic.
PEB: Is heavy drinking a men's thing in Japanese culture?
PJ: No, not only. It is difficult to say men and women drink equally, but it is a
different story. Usually women do have someone to go home with them, to
guide them home like their partner or colleagues or friends. I met many drunk
ladies. I shot some pictures of sleeping ladies on the streets, which is not very
common, and I still think about a project with them.
PEB: Tell us something about the series „Stay Still“ and „High Fashion“,
please.PEB: From your pictures we can see that you are usually on the move at night
time...
PJ: Yes, I am definitely a night person. Today i woke up at 3 a.m. I can find my
motives in the night.
PEB: Can you tell us the story about the series „Sleeping Train“?
PJ: The whole project started in 2004. It was the beginning of my friendship
with Japan. When I came here i was curious about everything. One early
morning i decided to visit the fish market. So I went into the train. There were
25 people and they were all sleeping. And I checked the other trains, too, and
almost everywhere everyone were asleep there, too. I thought that this is
amazing. And there I shoot the first photographs. This is a really common
picture, sleeping people in trains.
PEB: Did the people you photograph wake up some time and see you
photographing them or did you get in trouble photographing them sometimes?
PJ: I never got in any trouble at all. Some people from the train companies
approach me and say that I have to stop photographing them. But I can not
because there is no way someone can tell me to stop what I do. I only have this
one life and when I want to shoot the pictures, I do this. If I stop making
pictures I do not get the pictures I want. I do really respect the people I
photograph and I think they look just beautiful. The train is a really public space
but they cut themselves out there and just sleep, phenomenal. I take
photographs for the visual effect, which is really important for me, I take
photos of those people because I am interested in HOW they look like, not WHY.
PEB: Have you shown your photographs in Japan? What do Japanese people
think about it?
PJ: I showed them to all my Japanese friends and other Japanese foreigners. I
got more negative opinions from foreigners than Japanese people. Japanese
people can laugh about themselves, they can understand what I do and have a
certain distance to themselves, it is not offending for them. The very traditional
parents of my wife just think it is funny and realistic.
PEB: Is heavy drinking a men's thing in Japanese culture?
PJ: No, not only. It is difficult to say men and women drink equally, but it is a
different story. Usually women do have someone to go home with them, to
guide them home like their partner or colleagues or friends. I met many drunk
ladies. I shot some pictures of sleeping ladies on the streets, which is not very
common, and I still think about a project with them.
PEB: Tell us something about the series „Stay Still“ and „High Fashion“,
please.
PJ: They are all salarymen, which I started to photograph in 2008. At the first
sight they are really similar to each other. But at a closer look you can see
many differences, I could categorize them. The men who could still stand and
sleep... there you go: „Stay Still“. And „High Fashion“ is almost fashion
photography, the men lay in pose. I have a lot more photographs and
categories but I do not want to show much more, I think three categories are
enough.
PEB: Japan has got the highest rate of suicide in the society. Do you think the
pressure and heavy drinking takes impact on this? How is it involved in your
pictures?
PJ: My projects are not connected with suicide in Japanese society. They have
the same reasons to drink as we do, some drink because of problems, some
just want to have fun. The difference between them and us is, that they sleep
on the streets afterwards. I talked to the police some time and they say that
there still is robbery, so you might lost your bag while sleeping on the streets
but it is absolutely not common. You can not say it is accepted by the society
but it just is kind of common and the society never looks down to people who
fall asleep on the streets. Everybody gets drunk from time to time so they think
it is just a part of their lives.
I for myself do not judge this people at all, I only do it for the visual effect and
for what is most amazing for me and the contrast between the streets and the
tie. It is nothing against Japan or Japanese society. I really respect the country I
live in and its history.
At least I have to say that I am searching for special people for my photos on
the streets while riding my bicycle, not the „normal“ guy. I do select the people
I photograph. I do not have a picture in my mind when I go out, but when I see
the man I know if I really want this. I photographed „Stay Still“ for almost one
year now, I still shoot some pictures for the series some time and so far I picked
about 20 pictures out of them from the series.
With my bicycle I can reach more places in one night. The best time for taking
the photographs is between 1 a.m. And 4 a.m..
PEB: Thank you...