Takako Kido

Takako Kido (Japanese, b. 1970) received a B.A. in Economics from Soka University (Japan) in 1993 and graduated from ICP full-time program in 2003. She is currently based in Kochi in Japan. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions both in Japan and internationally, including Sprengel Museum Hannover (Germany), Candela Gallery (Virginia US), Foley Gallery (New York), Griffin Museum of Photography (Massachusetts US), Sendai City Museum (Japan), and elsewhere. Kido was one of Photolucida Critical Mass 2021 Top 50 and a recipient of 2022 Women Photograph Grant, LensCulture Summer Open 2022 Award, 3^rd place for VONOVIA Award fur Fotografie 2022, 2023 Daylight Photo Awards. She was a Finalist for the 2023 Arnold Newman Prize. Her work also has been featured in De Morgen, Kochi Newspaper, NHK World – JAPAN, Musee Magazine, CLAN Magazine, Milk Art Journal vol.2, Art and Asia, and more. Her first photobook The Unseen was published by Formare la luce in 2021.

‘Skinship’ is a common term in Japan, that describes the skin-to-skin, heart-to-heart relationship between a mother and a child, as well as among other close relatives. This includes breastfeeding, cuddling, piggyback rides, bathing together, co-sleeping and even playing, anything that builds intimacy. A child learns to care for others from loving touch. It is considered to be important for a child’s healthy development and the strengthening of family bonds.

While skinship is widely recognised in Japan, what many are unaware of is that it does not actually originate from English culture, but rather has its roots in Japanese culture. 

“Personally, the concept of skinship felt completely natural to me, even though I had never consciously thought about it or deliberately practiced it before. It was only after I was arrested in New York for my family’s snapshots of skinship, that I realised how unique and potentially shocking it could be in other cultural contexts.

Motherhood liberated me from constraints; the sense of shame for my body and the hypersexualisation of the female body. Photographing my son as he grows up and enjoys skinship has helped me heal the wounds from my past.”