What's this? Book review of HIROMIX's photo book.

Impressions: Hiromix is using other means of self-expression besides photography. This book is a collection of her ink drawings, photos, and poetry in handwritten English (with Japanese translations).

Her drawings are simple, depicting women (could be self-portraits) and a man or two. Some are nude, but they are only rough sketches. Most of the book is filled with her poems, mostly about love and life. She wrote all of them in English. Her English is awful, and her English handwriting is messy. You have to read the Japanese to understand what she's saying. But we have to give her credit for handwriting all that English and at least trying to communicate or express herself in English.

There are only about 20 photos, all in color, mainly urban scenes and roses. They include two self-portraits, and in one she wears a pair of glasses. She actually looks intelligent with eyeglasses.

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What's this? Book review of HIROMIX's latest photo book.

Impressions: It was inevitable that Hiromix would transplant her photo diary snapshooting outside Japan. This is her first book of overseas photos. The place is Paris, France.

She traveled to Paris on business in July, September, and October 1997 and Feb. 1998 for about 10 days each. She fell in love with Paris and took pictures of the scenery, food, buildings, etc. She also dedicates this book to her new boyfriend. Yes, Paris is for lovers, so we can see the connection.

The photos themselves are typical Hiromix. They are miscellaneous and random snapshots centering on building facades, the sky (and birds), a friend, pets (a dog or cat), and food (on her plate or in a supermarket). There's one picture of a woman that looks like her, but it's not her. It could be her sister. There are a few photos of a foreign man, but she does not reveal whether he's her lover.

There are no self portraits except for the last shot in the book. She's in the bathroom mirror with a small camera in her face and showing off her buns in skimpy black panties.

There are no photo captions. She only writes a little ditty on the last page addressed to her lover, saying that she wants to eat ice cream with him while sitting along the Seine River. It's in Japanese and in French (titled "Mon Cheri").

The book comes with a small, double-sided poster. One side shows a picture of parked airplanes through the large picture windows of the airport terminal. The other side is a shot of airline food (coffee and biscuits) courtesy of Air France.

Only she (or her new lover) would be able to understand the meaning or significance behind these pictures. That's what a photo diary is--something very personal which only the writer can really understand and identify with.

So my question is, how many more photo diary-type books will she be able to publish henceforth? How much further can she go with this style? It's getting pretty tiring to see this type of pictures after 5 or 6 years of it.

In hindsight, I think the hype and sensation surrounding Hiromix have been blown way out of proportion both in Japan and overseas (maybe I was one protagonist of this). I would hesitate to call her an artist worthy of an exhibition at a major art museum (which already happened at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Nagoya in late 2001 to early 2002 and might happen again elsewhere).

The photo diary fad is still alive and well among the masses in Japan. However, it is wearing very thin in the print media these days. Magazines which used to publish a lot of photo diary-type photos have cut back on such photos (or even ceased publication such as Out of Photographers).

The problem is that photo diary pictures have become such a commonplace in Japan (as with Print Club photo stickers) that the novelty and amusement of it all have worn off. It's no longer surprising or unusual to see the type of photos Hiromix is showing us. It's getting to be cliched and boring.

I think more people are starting to realize that a photo diary, like a real diary, should be kept private, to be seen only by the author or close friends and not by the whole world (which would be bored by it anyway unless there's nudity). (Reviewed by Philbert Ono)

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