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Artist Photographs Workers On The Streets Of Tokyo To Pay Homage To The Proud Work Ethics Of Japan (30 Pics)
In Japanese culture, people share a strong respect for all occupations and the workers who fill them. So much so that they even have a unique term to describe a hard worker - "Hatarakimono". Tokyo-based French artist Frank Le Petit, who goes by the name K-Narf (Frank spelled backward), pays tribute to the people who made the Asian country one of the greatest in the world. He attempts to preserve the Japanese work ethic ideals in images before it vanishes in the modern world. Hatarakimono Project is an extraordinary tape-o-graphic documentary with portraits of workers in their actual uniforms on the streets of Tokyo, ranging from cooks to firemen.
The Hatarakimono Project began in 2016, and over the course of 14 months, the artist captured 102 everyday workers on the job. With the help of a custom-made traveling photo studio, K-Narf was able to organize 34 photo-shoots directly in the streets, right next to the models’ workplaces. Representatives of diverse jobs were asked to stop working for a few minutes and pose on a small stool in front of the portable background made of fabric.
More info: Instagram | knarfart.com | Facebook
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Pastry Shop Staff
“I started the Hatarakimono Project as part of my ongoing work to transform the “Super-ordinary” of my everyday life into an “Extra-ordinary visual archive” for the future. I always wanted to make a large-scale series of portraits, so I decided to create a photographic project about the people I come to see down the road of my Tokyo studio: the Japanese workers,“ – K-Narf shares in one of his Instagram posts.
Jinrikisha Man
a small, two-wheeled, cartlike passenger vehicle with a fold-down top, pulled by one person, formerly used widely in Japan and China.
Each portrait was made as a triptych and manually processed as original tape-o-graph – a néo-vintage photographic method invented by the artist about 10 years ago, which makes each artwork one of a kind. Tape-o-graphy is a process of transferring a photograph from an ink-jet print onto clear adhesive tape. This unique style of the artist makes the finished portraits look as if the workers are small action figures in packages.
“I am not a photographer, I play pretend being one, it’s slightly different,” said the artist. “My work is not only limited to the image itself but also to re-invent completely photography and create my own photographic world halfway in between the imaginary and reality.”
Due to the experimental approach to photography, his work is directly associated to Bricolage Art movement which refers to art created with various unconventional, re-purposed and re-identified art materials and mixed media, basically anything on hand.
K-Narf says, “we always see the beauty of what we lost when it’s too late”, so the tape-o-graphic portrait collection will be kept in museum storage for 23 years and is to be shown in 2042 in 5 very prestigious museums around the world that he had already selected and contacted, including International Center of Photography in New York and Art gallery of NSW in Sydney.
An Udon Restaurant Owner Chef
A Cook
A Tofu Wholesaler
A Train Station Conductor
A Soba Confectioner
An Airport Ground Handling Staff
she looks like she is about to go for a swim and use those things to paddle with.
A Market Security Guard
A Poultry Cutter
And clean as a whistle, too. I sometimes long for that kind of cleanliness. (Me,on the other hand, I'm messy.)
A Petrol Station Staff
Notice how they all stand so straight? And proud? I know they are posing, but still.....
A Gas Controler
A Cement Wall Maker
When I was out early in Kyoto, I met an old farm worker going through the castle square on his way to work. He stopped his bike to make care conversation in English, just so I'd feel comfortable in his country. He was dressed old-style, and he was simply a sweetie.
A Road Worker
Fascinating and imaginative work. I appreciate her reinventing photography ♥
It's both a he. The one placing this article and the original photographer.
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I am unsure why these photos are elevated saying that Japan's people are more dedicated to their jobs than others around the world (they may be I don't know) but you can take ANY worker in uniform, have them stand straight and on a platform and get the same results. Nothing new.
Fascinating and imaginative work. I appreciate her reinventing photography ♥
It's both a he. The one placing this article and the original photographer.
Load More Replies... I am unsure why these photos are elevated saying that Japan's people are more dedicated to their jobs than others around the world (they may be I don't know) but you can take ANY worker in uniform, have them stand straight and on a platform and get the same results. Nothing new.
