Flora Figures

A study of Kazumasa Ogawa's Tree Peony

"Every image embodies a way of seeing. Even a photograph. For photographs are not, as is often assumed, a mechanical record. Every time we look at a photograph, we are aware, however slightly, of the photographer selecting that sight from an infinity of other possible sights. This is true even in the most casual family snapshot. The photographer's way of seeing is reflected in his choice of subject." — John Berger, Ways of Seeing

Kazumasa Ogawa (1860–1929) was one of the most important early Japanese photographers and printers. His 1896 book Some Japanese Flowers featured hand-colored collotype prints of flowers native to Japan. After being photographed and printed, the images were colored by Ogawa himself. Through his hand-coloring, he chose which part of the flower to draw focus to and purposely directed the viewer's eye.

The algorithms in this book take a single photograph of Ogawa's and transform it over and over again. We live in a time where tools now generate images from nothing. Pixels that reference no original moment, no flower that actually grew. With this book, I explore manipulation as an alternative to generation.