ASAKO NARUTO
All The Fading Words

In my native language, Japanese, there is a poetic metaphor that compares words to water droplets. (The “Dew of Words”) Inspired by this expression, in this work I have entrusted the abstract theme of “words” to “reflections in puddles”.
The phenomenon itself, which is like a slideshow unfolding in the same place, is surprisingly similar to the act of pressing the camera shutter, and can also be seen as an analogy for “speech”.
In addition, the indistinct image of the outline that emerges along with the ripples on the water's surface can also be thought of as a visualization of the workings of human memory. In this work, I observed the same puddle in a small area and expressed the flow of time and its transience visually. To emphasize the ambiguous atmosphere, I took the photo with a split diopter filter attached to the lens.

Author
A Japanese photographer based in Madrid. She studied design at Musashino Art University and completed doctoral studies in art history at Nagoya University.
Her work explores traces of absence and hidden urban narratives, capturing subtle emotional resonances through a contemplative yet incisive gaze. Noted for her Madrid train-station series and experimental use of prisms and split diopters, she examines the fragility between presence and disappearance.
She has received international recognition, including the Grand Prix at the Paris International Street Photo Awards and consecutive B&W International Awards. She exhibited with ART-ICON in Paris (2024) and Arles (2025).
Her first photobook, All the Fading Words, was published in 2025.

Website
https://asakonaruto.myportfolio.com/

Instagram
@asako_fotografa

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