Us, people. Kyoto belongs to my conceptual series Us, people., exploring individuality, diversity and the relationship between the individual and society.
The composition consists of 64 separate squares arranged within a precise grid on raw linen. Each represents an individual — part of a larger social structure, yet carrying an entirely unique internal world.
In Kyoto, every individual is built from irregular concentric layers. They represent the different versions of ourselves that we reveal to others: social roles, learned behaviours, protective mechanisms and masks adopted in order to belong, adapt or simply function among other people.
To truly understand someone, we have to move through these layers.
Some protect us. Some are imposed by society. Others are consciously constructed. They overlap, change over time and sometimes conceal rather than reveal what lies underneath. Somewhere at the centre remains something more intimate — the core we might consider our true nature.
From a distance, the 64 elements form an ordered community. Up close, no two are alike. Their centres shift, colours change and layers follow different rhythms. The neutral raw linen creates a shared structure, while all the colour exists within the individuals themselves.
This contrast lies at the heart of Us, people.: society creates structures, categories and expectations, but the people within them remain infinitely complex.
We may learn to fit into the same grid.
But underneath the layers, each of us remains different.
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