Photographer Kyoto Hamada creates an alter ego for ongoing project

Date
12 April 2013

Everyone is terrified of getting old, from that first grey hair we deny even existed to shedding a tear at your first wrinkle. It may flabbergast you, but Kyoto Hamada has donned a grey wig, latex makeup and floral patterns to become an old lady in a project called I used to be you. She goes by the name of Kikuchiyo-san, and accompanied by a series of photographs, she goes about her life sewing buttons, going to museums and doing her laundry.

I feel quite humbled by Kyoto’s project, as recent events have led her to look at her life from a different perspective, and in this case, through a fictional character. By taking herself out of her comfort zone as an artist, it has become a reminder that “time and life are always moving.”

Above

Kyoto Hamada: I used to be you

Above

Kyoto Hamada: I used to be you

Above

Kyoto Hamada: I used to be you

Above

Kyoto Hamada: I used to be you

Above

Kyoto Hamada: I used to be you

Above

Kyoto Hamada: I used to be you

Above

Kyoto Hamada: I used to be you

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About the Author

Holly Wilkins

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