Echoes of Self

Echoes of Self is an ongoing long-term photographic project exploring memory, identity, belonging, and the search for Ikigai, the Japanese concept of a life’s purpose. Through self-portraiture set within the landscape, the work examines how our experiences shape who we become and how our relationship with the natural world reflects the ongoing process of self-discovery. Created with a 4×5-inch large-format camera using hand-coated nineteenth-century dry plates on glass, each image is made through a slow and deliberate process that embraces unpredictability. The introduced imperfections, bubbles, streaks, scratches, light leaks, and chemical inconsistencies are not flaws to be corrected but visual metaphors for the imperfections of life. Every plate becomes a unique object whose physical surface mirrors the emotional landscape it represents. Rather than functioning as autobiography, Echoes of Self uses my own body as a universal figure through which viewers may reflect on their experiences. Trees become symbols of resilience and connection; water embodies transformation and remembrance; open horizons suggest uncertainty and possibility; and earth represents grounding, renewal, and belonging. These recurring natural metaphors create a visual language that speaks to shared human experience beyond culture or geography. The project unfolds in seven interconnected chapters, each marking a stage in an inner journey, from memory and aspiration to attachment, solitude, belonging, reflection, and, ultimately, the recognition that identity is never fixed but continually evolving. Together, these chapters form a meditation on presence, absence, vulnerability, and acceptance. The slow pace of large-format photography and the handcrafted nature of the dry-plate process demand patience, intention, and surrender to chance. This dialogue between control and uncertainty mirrors how our lives unfold, reminding us that meaning often emerges from imperfection rather than precision. In an era increasingly dominated by speed, digital perfection, and fleeting imagery, Echoes of Self invites viewers to slow down and contemplate the enduring relationship among self, memory, and nature. The project offers no definitive answers but a quiet space for reflection, encouraging each viewer to recognize fragments of their own journey in the landscapes and to consider where purpose, belonging, and identity may ultimately be found.