From Floppy Disks to Fragments of Memory.

When I received the pictures back in 1994 I did work with them and created the pages of what would become the first Virtual Journey. It is true that I only got the first pages printed for my graduation exhibition but all the pages were finished, just not to a standard that I was 100% content with. 25 years after I left the Academy, when returned to making art again, my first idea was to revisit these pictures, go back to 1994. Unfortunately the floppy disks that stored the original layouts were damaged and became unusable. All that I had were the first few pages in print and some sketches I made back then.

Recreating Tokyo Across Time.

A personal time-travel was needed to dive into these few surviving images and my (written down) ideas from 1994 to recreate the entire story of Tokyo. With the aid of images found online I discovered many of the features from my photos from 1994 were still present in 2019. While recreating the story I kept moving back and forth between 1994 and 2019. The story that initially was to be a virtual journey in location became a personal time travel. In 25 years the world changed and I had changed. About my own change I would discover more a few years later in Istanbul. More on that when I share the story about the IST28Y series from 2024 with you.

Still There: Tokyo’s Unchanged Markers.

A few markers that passed through time are the Moyai Statue that is one of the iconic meeting points, still attracting travellers to meet. The enormous TV screen gracing one of the facades, and in fact the facade itself are unchanged. More screens and advertising has been added over the years.

Still Learning: What These Images Continue to Teach Me.

Over the years I have been looking on and off at the images taken in 1994 and I still get surprised about things I see in these pictures. Not only directly but also indirectly. There are pictures of scenes that I also have found in other cities. Here again I see the prove that we are more alike then un-alike, a confirmation that we really all are doing the same things, the same habits and the same kind of life. Thousands of kilometers away there are people like us doing things like us. Some regional differences but nothing earth shattering. This fascination is a great drive for me to keep sharing these images and stories.