OMOIDE POROPORO
BY DAVID FAVROD
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HANDMADE LIMITED EDITION OF 100 COPIES WITH A C-PRINT
21.5 X 27.5 CM, 50 PAGES, 53 COLOR AND B & W PLATES
JAPANESE BOOKBINDING WITH LOOSE LEAF METAL FASTENERS
KODOJI PRESS, Baden, 2010, FIRST EDITION, ISBN 978 –3– 03747– 019 – 0
Retail price EUR 23.– / USD 34.– / CHF 34.–
David Favrod’s work is shaped by the preoccupation with his dual identity. Born in Japan, Favrod grew up in Switzerland where he still lives.
In his first publication, Omoide Poroporo, Favrod creates a playful and poetic correspondence between these two cultures. “Omoide Poroporo” refers to a Japanese proverb, which describes the slow dispersion of memory. Favrod constructs a juxtaposition of flashbacks and fantasies and therefore intensifies the initial multi-cultural confusion. Besides his own photographs Favrod uses images from photo albums of his own family as well as various handicraft works, which evoke the art of Origami. With all these elements one would assume it is complexity that is central to these works however, it is much more the opposite, ‘simplicity’.
Another reference is Japanese photography with Masao Yamamoto as one crucial figure. His pure photography and treatment of themes such as silence and sensitivity strongly influence Favrod’s work. Likewise he is fascinated by the photographic experiments of Hiroshi Sugimoto as well as the way Japanese authors deal with subjects such as reality, fiction, and imagination. The Japanese binding and the contrary reading direction of Favrod’s Zen-like publication reveal yet another indication of his Japanese roots.
David Favrod (1982) was born in Kobe/Japan and lives in Vionnaz/Switzerland. He received his BA in Photography and is currently pursuing an MA at the École Cantonale d’Art in Lausanne. He was recently chosen for the exhibition project ReGeneration2 at the Musée de l’Élysée 201