In so many of the conceptual still life images, Yasuomi Hashimura returns to the beginnings of his photographic process: photograms. Utilizing his expert knowledge of color theory and composition, he adds mood and emotion into these scenes. Often working with everyday items such as marbles and glasses, these objects are transformed into mysterious colors and shapes. Something that is present in all of Hashimura’s work is the drive to create something original that viewers haven’t seen before. With his background knowledge of painting and drawing, he sought to push photography further. Favoring spot lighting and dark backgrounds, Hashimura creates an imagined world.

    The image “Hawaiian Dream” becomes a foreshadowing of Hashimura’s future work focusing on abstract brush strokes. He experiments with the juxtaposition of calligraphic brush strokes against the inherent beauty of a pink orchid. “Pink Ashtray (Used)” transforms the objects involved into an abstraction of reality. Cigarettes butts are often thought of with a negative connotation. They can be disgusting and smelly, but in this instance they are transformed in a beautiful layered texture reminiscent of a photogram. Several photographs play with the textures and forms involved with ashtrays and smoke. The smoke can be compared to the water element in many of the action still lives, in their fluid and ephemeral forms.