Connection and Expressing the Inner Self | 10 Questions for Masamiya Hikaru | ISSUE #2

‘ISSUE’ is a series that delves into the sensibilities and thought processes of creators worldwide, serving as a catalyst for new inspiration.
In ‘ISSUE #2’, we pose 10 questions to Tokyo-based art director Masamiya Hikaru, exploring their diverse roots, unique worldview, and modes of expression.

My mother is Chinese, my father is Australian, and I was born and raised in Tokyo as a Japanese person (laughs). Currently, I’m based in Tokyo working as an art director and designer, and I run a brand called ‘aesthesia’.

I’ve loved drawing since I was a child and was apparently known for drawing everywhere (laughs). After graduating high school, I traveled the world as a backpacker, and that experience connects to what I do now.

The impetus for my round-the-world trip came during a midterm exam in high school.

During the test, I stopped my pen and looked from the very back seat at my classmates in front of me. Of course, it’s obvious, but everyone was dressed the same, taking the same test in the same way at the same time.

Because I knew everyone’s individuality and inner beauty, the situation struck me as interesting, and at that moment, I felt a fear that living according to the so-called ‘pre-laid tracks’ system could lead to losing one’s individuality.

I thought it would be much more interesting if everyone answered in their own way (laughs).

From that experience, when I considered my path with a broader perspective, I concluded that I wanted to know values, cultures, and worlds beyond Japan, even though I couldn’t speak English at all, and decided, ‘Let’s go out into the world!’
Thanks to that, I learned that ‘values’ are countless and shaped by place, culture, and environment, and that going to another country can completely change your perspective. Conversely, I also learned that the essence doesn’t change no matter where you are in the world.

During my travels, I worked as a fashion journalist, taking street fashion snapshots and, though an amateur photographer, sneaking into overseas fashion weeks (laughs).

It was around that time that I started going to exhibitions of fashion, art, and photography.

As for photography, when I was 20, I was deeply impacted by the ‘So Far So Goude’ exhibition by Jean-Paul Goude in Milan, Italy. I was amazed at where such ideas could come from.

That remains one of my most memorable experiences in photography.

I don’t really have a first memory of taking photographs. I think I was taking pictures before I was even aware of it.

That’s probably because my mother always carried a camera, so I imagine she handed it to me before I can remember.

But even as a child, I definitely loved drawing.

Even now, I see photography as something technical, perhaps with an engineer’s sensibility. There’s a mechanical aspect to it as well.

It’s abstract, but I feel that photography is about ‘capturing the exterior’, while drawing is about ‘releasing the interior’.

That’s why, when I look through the viewfinder, I might be expressing myself through the sensibility of looking at a painting, rather than simply framing the outside world.

I think I’ve always been thinking about how a photograph can be elevated into a painting.

Unless I’m creating a highly constructed work, I’m not too particular about equipment.

I sometimes shoot video for work, and I often extract stills from video frames.

This is partly because I love the unique texture of film, and I feel that extracting a photograph from a sequence of video gives a sense of capturing a flow. Perhaps my commitment is to generating photographs from moving images (laughs). Ultimately, both are frames.

For video, I mainly use the Pocket Cinema Camera by Blackmagic, an Australian manufacturer.

For everyday photography, I like 35mm film instant cameras. I care about the texture, but I’m not particular about the brand.

For everyday use, I value ‘naturalness and ease’, so I just pull the camera out of my pocket and capture the moment as it is. Now that I think about it, my use of 35mm instant cameras was probably influenced by photographer Hiroyuki Koshikawa, whom I met and who photographed me in Ukraine during my travels.

During my round-the-world trip, I also had a 35mm MINOLTA Riva ZOOM camera I found at an antique shop, but it broke after I returned to Japan. As a second camera, I now use a Canon autoboy 3.

I’ve liked Londrelle, who is also a poet, since before he became famous, and I listen to him a lot lately.
What I appreciate about him is that, even after five years, his lyrics and the core of his work haven’t changed. I’ve learned that things with genuine substance don’t fade away.

I’ve also been revisiting the ‘Sunday Service’ album produced by Kanye West, and while working, I listen to Tchaikovsky, Mozart, and tracks by AOKI TAKAMASA.

Classical music really helps me focus, and I recommend everyone try it (laughs).

When I’m creating, I’m so absorbed that I don’t consciously try to imitate anyone. I do feel that the many experiences that have inspired me in the past manifest in the present moment.

I think it’s my own rule to faithfully express the urge to convey my inner self.

Rather than specific individuals, I often find inspiration by tracing history.

For example, when I wanted to photograph portraits like those hung in music rooms, I traced the history of portraiture.

When I set out to shoot portraits, I wanted to find the person who first popularized photographic portraiture, and in my research, I learned that it was the French photographer Nadar in the 1850s.

Nadar apparently continued to photograph portraits of celebrities and artists in his Paris studio at the time. Interestingly, the Impressionist painters Monet and Cézanne, who are also popular in Japan, held their first exhibition in Nadar’s studio, which became the starting point for the now-famous Impressionist movement. Everything is connected.

Also, while drone aerial photography is commonplace now, it’s said that Nadar was the first to take aerial photographs from a hot air balloon. It’s fascinating that the pioneer of both portrait and aerial photography was the same person.

You learn so much by tracing history—it’s always interesting.

When I was in Paris, I even visited the address of Nadar’s studio, but unfortunately, nothing remains of it now (laughs).

I’d like to try the 35mm Kyocera TD film camera.
It’s equipped with a Carl Zeiss Tessar T* lens, which gives great image quality, and I simply like its appearance.

Also, though it’s a luxury item, I’ve always been interested in the LEICA minilux.
Its price keeps rising every year, so buying it now would be the cheapest it’ll ever be. I feel it’s a rare camera that’s loved by many.

When it comes to people, I love photographs taken at the moment when I feel truly connected to the subject.

It’s that moment of intuitive connection—when the subject is being their authentic self. They show their true selves, I’m naturally drawn in, and I find myself immersed in the situation.

It’s hard to put into words (laughs).

For landscapes, I enjoy photographing buildings overseas. Capturing things that have existed in the same place for a long time, things with a history far longer than my own life, makes me feel as if I’ve become part of that history.

Whether it’s myself or others, doing something you already think is ‘uncool’ just by compromising.

I feel that’s when your artistry or humanity really shows.

I have a lot of designer friends, so I mostly receive clothes as gifts or have them sent to me (laughs).

Sometimes we barter products we’ve made. Because we know each other, they’ll tweak the designs to suit my tastes. Since they love creating, they’re happy to accommodate, and sometimes those exchanges spark ideas for new collections.

Also, I’ve never been good at choosing from a set selection at regular shops.

I shoot based on intuition, so my settings really depend on the situation. Of course, things like weather and environment matter, but even my mood and how I see the world that day can change things.

But when it comes to focus, I prefer manual as a matter of feeling.

This might sound a bit clumsy (laughs), but during my round-the-world trip, I actually brought a Nikon SLR camera. Life as a backpacker is wild—my bag would get bumped, and when I camped by the sea, sand got inside, so the autofocus stopped working partway through.

I couldn’t afford a new lens, so I had no choice but to shoot manually.

At first, it was tough to get used to manual focus for those moments I wanted to capture quickly, but after a year and a half, it became second nature. And then I realized the button had just gotten stiff and it wasn’t actually broken (laughs).

But once I got used to it, I found the flexibility of manual focus really suited me.

I think for professionals, manual is the standard, but thanks to this experience, I naturally developed a feel for manual focusing, which I consider lucky.

Also, if I’m going to be particular about creating something, I want to put effort into the manual aspects across the board.

I believe that the inexplicable ‘something’ that makes art truly art is born from those small details. After all, they say ‘God is in the details’ (laughs).