ABOUT

LOVESODY by Motoyuki Daifu is an intimate portrait of the photographer’s relationship with a single young mother and her two children. Suffused with joy and melancholy, the images capture all the intimacies of young love burning fast and bright. In Daifu’s introduction, he announces that their ‘lovesody’ (a portmanteau of love and rhapsody) lasted for six months—a statement that while endearing, hints also at a kind of sadness. All the while, Daifu’s relationship with his subject remains in constant flux—from father figure, to lover, and even to the role of child.

Daifu’s images in all their frenetic quality allow the viewer to dive right in to the picture—to see and almost feel, touch, smell and hear. Firing on all senses, Daifu offers a multi-layered dialogue with the viewer, where one can almost taste the milk desired by the needy newborn, see the snot and grime, and taste the molten butter on thick cut toast. Added to this is Daifu’s ambigious position, whereby his gaze repeatedly shifts from that of amorous admirer, to that of a protective father, and finally to the role of a child himself. His image of a swollen breast amounts to both the lover’s gaze on the object of his desire, and also that of a child demanding his sustenance.