Miyako Ishiuchi's mother died in 2000. Although they never got along with each other very well, Ishiuchi was deeply affected. She decided to photograph her mother's former possessions in order to better process her death - and life. The things which she documented tell the story of a fashionable, self-confident woman. After her husband was reported missing in World War II, she earned her living as a truck driver. When she became pregnant by another man, her first husband suddenly reappeared. Divorce followed - a week before Ishiuchi was born. With her photo series MOTHER'S 2000-2005 - TRACES OF THE FUTURE Ishiuchi wanted to create 'a contact point between the present and the past'. By her own testimony, thanks to the photographs she has learned to understand her mother better.

In her work, included in many museum collections in Japan and America, Miyako Ishiuchi (Japan, b. 1947) focuses on the passage of time. She is representing Japan in the Venice Biënnale this year with MOTHER'S 2000-2005.

Courtesy Sepia International, United States