Kumi Oguro
Photographer, Gallery Staff, Translator & Interpreter, Antwerp
Nude
Kumi Oguro wears many hats. When she is not creating or taking pictures, she translates words from one language to another and works at a local art gallery. From Japan, passing by London, she decided to settle in Antwerp, Belgium. She found home and inspiration in that small town where she hopes to spend many more years. When thinking about nudity and the human body, Kumi sees materials and ingredients to create her own imagery. A bunch of hair might suddenly look like a creature with its own will. For our greatest pleasure, she deconstructed our theme to pure artistic expression.
What brought you to Antwerp, Belgium?
While I lived in London, I liked the atmosphere of the city and so I wanted to give it a try.
Are you the girl we see mostly on the pictures?
No, never. I’m always behind the camera.
There is something very raw and real in your photography, how would you describe your approach to the human body when you shoot?
In a way, I treat the human body as if it is a doll, as materials/ingredients to create my images. At the same time, body parts can be very expressive. A bunch of hair might look like a creature with its own will.
If you had to leave your comfort zone suddenly, what would be the most challenging thing to do for you?
To be photographed by a photographer! Totally uncomfortable.
We meet again in 10 years, where are you and what do you do?
I will still be here but traveling more often. As I started a couple of new things in the last 10 years, I will be having some other new challenges.
Your idea of happiness?
A feeling that everything is after all getting better.
Your idea of misery?
Not being able to control my body.
If not yourself, who would you be?
No idea.
Your heroes?
D & J.
What is your present state of mind?
Rather calm.
Bedside table books?
99% fiction books.
What do you do if you can’t sleep at night?
I give it up.
What is the best dish you can cook?
Apple pie (if I can call it a dish).
What is your middle name?
N/A
What do you do in your free time?
I play piano or read.
What inspires you?
Often literature.
What do you do for money?
Everything I stated in Occupation.
What do you do for pleasure?
I love sleeping (and dreaming).
Do you collect?
Not really.
Tea or coffee?
Tea 6 : coffee 4, let’s say.
What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?
I still believe that I saw a little blue monkey near the ceiling when I was 2 or 3.
A color?
Red.
A city?
Yokosuka, Japan.
What are your plans for this weekend?
Work – music – rest.
A song?
Some 90s stuff.
Right or left handed?
Right handed.
