Sokohi documents the sensation of blindness as it settles, and the power of the imagination that arises from it. As her father gradually loses his sight due to glaucoma, artist Moe Suzuki begins to document the daily life they share together. The resulting images are mixed with photographs from the family archive, as well as those taken by her father. Through these images, Suzuki attempts to show what sighted people can see but her father cannot, and to imagine what her father sees but others cannot.
The book was published by Chose Commune in July 2022. This first edition runs 150 pages with 102 plates, measuring 25.7 by 18.2 centimeters, in a hardcover wire-o binding. The publication includes text in English, French, and Japanese, with editorial direction by Cécile Poimbœuf-Koizumi and design by bureau Kayser. The text is by Moe Suzuki.
Suzuki was born in Tokyo and studied photography at the University of the Arts London. Upon returning to Tokyo after the Great Eastern Earthquake in 2011, she taught herself book-binding skills and started a career as a visual artist, working primarily with photography, mixed with archival images and illustrations to tell narratives in book form. Her work focuses on topics such as community life, people with disabilities, or spirituality.
Sokohi won the 7th edition of the LUMA Rencontres Dummy Book Award Arles in 2021. Its publication was made possible by the award’s founders, Les Rencontres d’Arles and the LUMA Foundation.
