Yasumasa Yonehara (YONE)  米原康正

居住於東京的米原康正(Yasumasa Yonehara)1959年生於日本熊本縣， 在日本街頭文化圈內可說是幾乎無人不知，他既是一名編輯也是攝影師，更跨足音樂界成為DJ，是一位活躍在多領悟全方位發展的藝術家。多元文化的米原康正長年開展不同的人氣項目，不僅與大家熟知的AKB48、五月天、楊穎等知名偶像團體和亞洲藝人開展攝影、藝術合作，更在台灣、上海、歐洲展開大型巡迴藝術展覽。

 

米原康正最為人知的創作莫過於一系列性暗示強烈的拍立得照片，他的作品大多以拍攝自然、私密、性感的女性人體作為其特色。米原康正在 1995 年創立了《egg》雜誌，當時，女性喜歡用拍立得拍照，但在當時的流行風氣之下，女性多半走是別性較低的可愛風。於是就出現了某一派系的女性用色筆在照片上塗鴉使之更特別。當時米原康正為《egg》整理素人照片時，看到這樣的照片深深感到震撼，而這股心理狀態與震驚的程度慢慢在心裡發酵，醞釀出這次展覽的雛形。他認為「一定要在這股膚淺的潮流之下做出些區隔性。」在日本，十幾歲的少女們在社會當中屬於邊緣份子。他從澀谷、原宿尋找適合的女性，想藉由這些人去表達在日本現在的社會狀況以及這些女性最真實的樣貌。他認為社群的興起讓人們變得越來越膚淺，很多事實因此而被埋沒，其中也包括人們內心的那份真誠，在這樣的情況之下，米原康正想通過他的作品找出那些真相以及挑戰主流思維所賦予的社會價值。

 

「我喜歡拍攝的對象往往都很率真、很有態度，我認為我自己也是一個這樣的人。」米原康正說：「在日本，女生如果被拍照其實是沒有自主權的，這反映了日本的父系霸權主義，『女性就應該百依百順』 如詛咒般束縛著日本的女人，即便到了現在依然存在著這樣的觀念。有時候把女生拍得太有自己的個性，我反而會被那些女生的粉絲討厭。」 但他想拍的女性，往往都是有自己意識及有個性的人，而非一般符合日本社會大眾所期待的女性，米原康正希望她們的一顰一笑、每個動作都發自內心。在日本社會當中，很多女性的思想被束縛的情況如空氣般的存在，但在米原康正呼籲女性應該要掙脫這樣的枷鎖，找到自己存在的價值。 「我們往往只看到很表面的事物，你怎麼知道，那些婀娜多姿的美女，在擺出那樣撩人動作的背後，是否真的就如我們想像的那樣呢？」米原康正如此說道。瑪麗蓮夢露無庸置疑的是一代性感女神，但她在某次訪問中提到自己從小就與養父母同住，缺少關愛，甚至被性騷擾，導致日後自己對於「性」的無感。米原康正認為或許她呈現在世人面前的自己其實是一種武裝，透過這樣的防衛去迎合世人對於自己的想像，更是一種嘲諷的抗議。

 

作為一位擅長拍攝性感照片的攝影師，米原康正會開始思考「什麼樣的男性用什麼樣的方式去拍攝能夠讓女性喜歡」，這是他的專業，也是他在攝影創作當中相當重視的部分。米原康所以要製造的是感覺，並非刻意營造出那樣的氛圍，在他的作品當中有許多以女性角度出發的創作，所以對於性實在無需感到害羞或可恥 。

 

此次 Lucie Chang Fine Arts / L+ 很榮幸地與米原康正合作舉辦香港首次個展「甜秘密」，展出以女性主題為概念結合鏡像集合體攝影。教導觀者適當的還疑自己眼前所看到的事實，於是"Reflections Alter Perception"這就是米原康正想表達的意涵 。好比如照片被四面環繞的鏡子包圍，從鏡子裡反射出來得即是照片當中的集合體。對於這種以集合構成的影像彷彿是用從另一個完全不同的角度跳脫出來的一種表現形式。 由於米原康正的音樂人身份而這種四面環繞的臨場感不僅出現在視覺，因而產生了"Mental machine music"就像環繞音響一樣的，在聲音不斷的被周圍的環境反射之後所產生的震撼聽覺。而有別於以女性人物為特色"Love makes you feel"而是用物件，透過反射而得到的不同視覺效果 。此次展覽，在展現米康正對於流行攝影藝術中，不僅是對「人」之間的探討還展現了「人與空間」中的微妙變化，透過米原康正的鏡頭下與藝術家獨特的眼光，帶領觀者一趟 「甜秘密」的視覺之旅。

 

 

Yasumasa Yonehara (YONE) was born in 1959 in Kumamoto prefecture and is based in Tokyo.  Surveying the current Asia-based pop culture icons, Yasumasa Yonehara (YONE) stands out prominently. YONE is a versatile Japan-based photographer, magazine editor, producer, director, and DJ, who have been exhibiting his photographic works extensively across the globe since 2004 not only in Tokyo but L.A. YONE has been a visionary of the trends on the street since 1995, serving as the chief editor for Japan-based street culture and fashion magazines, while slowly building a career as an icon /celebrity photographic artist. He started painting on his and others’ photos since 2001.

 

YONE is well known for his series of Polaroid photography that are characterized by their heavy sexual connotation that captures natural, mysterious, and sexy women. In 1995, he established the magazine “egg”. At that time, there was a fashion trend of taking pictures via instant camera, but women’s photos mostly featured adorable and light-hearted themes without obvious personal characteristics. But there stood out a group of women who utilized colorful markers to draw on their instant camera photos show their uniqueness. YONE saw those marked instant camera photos when he viewed reader inputs for “egg”, and he was deeply struck and inspired. YONE thought, “Although it is superficial, I could follow the trend and I should make something different.” In Japan, adolescents are at the edge of the society, but through the representation of them, YONE wanted to draw public attention to this specific group and to display ae clearer picture of the country. He perceived that the society was becoming more and more shallow, and truth as well as impressment was being buried. Through his artworks, YONE attempted to get to the bottom of things and to challenge the values of the mainstream society.

 

“The models I took pictures of were all forthright and sincere, but with an attitude. I think myself is as being the same kind of person,” YONE stated,. “In Japan women are not autonomous when they are photographed; a reflection of, the patriarchy and conservatism of Japan. Sometimes, when I captured the female models in a pioneer novel way, I may offend some female viewers.” YONE hoped that the gestures and expressions of his models would be faithful and genuine. He appealed to women who were suppressed by social pressure that prevented them to seek their true values. “We see things too shallowly. We can never know the things behind the sexy gestures and expressions of those gorgeous females,” YONE said. Marilyn Monroe was thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world,; she had blond hair and the perfect body shape. But she was raised by adoptive parents who lacked concerns for her, and even sexually abused her during childhood. As a result, she had no feeling for sex. YONE thought Monroe’s sexy appearance might be a kind of self-defense to cater to people’s imagination, but also at the same time, a statement to the superficial society.

 

He thought there naturally came a sexual atmosphere when he did photography, and there was no need for him to create it deliberately. Although he did have some shots done from the perspective of females, in most cases, YONE tended to complete his artworks from males’ view, considering “What kind of female shots photographed by male artist would be popular among females?” That is also a crucial part of his creation that reflects his professional concerns,: “When faced with sex, we don’t need to feel shy or ashamed, but instead, we should establish a healthy attitude.”

 

Lucie Chang Fine Arts and L+ are pleased to announce opening of the first Hong Kong exhibition of YONE titled “Sweet Secret”, showcasing a group of collaged woman-themed mirror images. “Reflection Alter Perception”, YONE encourages viewers to sense the incertitude of the visual world. When photos are surrounded by mirrors, the refection in the mirrors is also a component of the artwork, which provides another application for examining the reality. When it comes to his idea behind this exhibition, he also mentioned “Mental machine music”, which manifests how YONE utilizes the idea of misperception in music domain, with his standing as an established musician. The original sound track is mixed with the reflection from the walls, compounding a thrilling auditory experience. And “Love makes you feel” emphasizes on the unique spatial effect constructed by the images of furniture. In “Sweet Secret”, ˙YONE explores the intimate connection between human and human as well as that between human and space in his unique artsy manner.