This page is artist Yasu Suzuka's official website
Portfolio
The "Engi Mandala" series, a collection of photos taken during visits to 88 sacred sites in Shikoku, was a project that started on August 8, 2000 and ended on August 8, 2001. The key word here was "eight (8)." It was the number in Yasu Suzuka’s birthday, August 8th, and the number related to infinity (∞). This project was pursued under the concepts of "coincidence and consequence" and "connection," which was then the fundamental concept behind Yasu Suzuka’s work as an artist. It started with a portrait of a man on a pilgrimage, and was followed by a portrait of a person who he met next on a visit to a sacred site holding the portrait of the previous person. These portraits connected by this "chain of people" concept encapsulated the coincidental encounters with people, as well as being a photographic record of a chain of encounters that would never be likely to happen. The black and white portraits (88 pieces) arranged in the center are surrounded by color portraits (1936 pieces). Some portraits are laid out from the old to the new in relation to the time they were taken, and others are laid out from the new to the old. These two directions express a reversing stream of time that cross in the middle, signifying infinite circulation. All things in this world are connected and circulate. This is an oriental philosophy, which is well represented in the "Engi Mandala" series.
摩尼車 / Mani Prayer Wheel
Using earth collected from the ground of the 88 sacred sites in Shikoku as paint, Yasu Suzuka applied this material to the paper with his own fingers, simultaneously embracing 88 prayers into it. A Polaroid photo of clouds in the sky above each sacred temple is attached to the center of a piece of finger painted paper. This photo collection was created through a pilgrimage made possible through the connection between heaven and earth, and is evidence of precious once-in-a-lifetime meetings.
