Known for vacuum-sealing couples in plastic bags to illustrate claustrophobic love, Japanese artist Haruhiko Kawaguchi, aka ‘Photographer Hal‘ is now vacuum-sealing the same couples but with their home this time! With only 10 seconds to shoot, (or the subjects would be in danger), the air is filled with tension, the faces and skin physically shrivel up as they get sealed up, stoking fear and suffocation. A lovely large scale project that will for sure hear about more in the future
“First I go hunting for locations and decide which angle I’m going to film from. Then, I measure all the elements from that angle and buy some plastic curing sheets used for construction. Each item – the house, car, tree – are all taken to the location one by one and layered for the photographs. Finally, I package up the couple and shoot within 10 seconds of sealing them in,” he said.
From the Artist:
I want to express love through my work. Because everything in the world is based on love. Everyone loves family and lovers. But I think it is important whether it is directed around us. If it is not directed, it will sometimes create disparities or create conflicts. And only love may have the power to bring all things together, even across races and disparities. So we should spread the sense of love outward and spread the link of love more and more across the various communities.
Based on such an idea, I started a project to vacuum pack a couple and everything around with a landscape. Not only a couple who loves each other but also everything around them is vacuum-packed, and eventually the whole landscape is vacuum-packed, creating an image where everything in the world is one existence. The shooting location is the most important place for them. The things you love will be one, and the world will be one. I think that is an ideal form of love. In order to participate in this project, you need to be ready for death and love next to you, and I need to be prepared for it too. To make the best memorial photo for the family.
