KOI

The koi carp is one of the most beloved symbols in Japanese culture. The deepest meaning of the koi comes from an old Chines legend, absorbed into Japanese culture, of carp swimming upstream against a powerful current of the yellow river. A carp that succeeded in leaping over the waterfall at the Dragon Gate was said to be transformed into a dragon. Because of this story, the koi became an enduring emblem of perseverance, courage in the face of adversity, and success achieved through sustained effort.

Gliding through the still ponds of temples and gardens, they embody a quiet, contemplative beauty — movement and calm held in the same moment.

When I began this project, I struggled with a question. Each koi was, to me, already a piece of art — so I wondered whether it made any sense simply to replicate something that was already so complete and beautifulit in a photograph?

Eventually I settled on a different aim: not to reproduce the fish, but to capture the gravity and grace of its movement. By reducing the shutter speed each koi dissolves into flowing gesture — colour, light, and motion held in a single frame. The result is impressionistic rather than literal, an attempt to render the feeling of the koi in water rather than a catalogue of what already exists.