After the Snowstorm - Yoshinori Saito

Hokkaido-based photographer Yoshinori Saito’s photobook “After the Snowstorm” captures the barren landscapes after heavy snowfall in the form of achromatic visual poems: single ferns, sticks, blades of grass and branches protruding in black from the white blankness of the surrounding snow. Each image page is accompanied by its title, barely visible, as if covered under snow, given in the language of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, and in Japanese and English translation.

“When I walk on the fluffy virgin snow, in the distance I notice unusual forms. On closer examination they are only some weeds, with their stalks broken and leaves fallen, leaving only a skeletal form. Against the white snow these forms appear black and form sharp markings, as if drawn.
This moment also gives me a deep connection to the indigenous Ainu people of Hokkaido. They believe that when their time on earth is over, they return to God’s world, and in due course will reappear. To reflect this sentiment, each work is titled to reflect their world. It is as if the forms are whispering to me, through the tranquility, giving me hope and gently supporting me through to spring.” - Yoshinori Saito

limited edition of 500 numbered copies.

text by Yoshinori Saito in Japanese and English

stock number: NB433