Tokihiro Sato

Tokihiro Sato is one of Japan’s best-known contemporary photographic artists although the majority of his training
lies in sculptor.His work deals mainly with his ideas about light and space.  I really love the energy that is infused
in his work even though there is no actual sign of life.It creates an interesting contrast between everything in the
image being completely static and sharp and the fact that there is a great sense of movement and energy.  

The method he uses to obtain these results is distinctly his own.  He uses an 8 x 10 camera and makes long
exposures of up to 2 to 3 hours.During that time, he moves through the frame with a mirror (or often he buries the
small mirrors around the scene) to reflect light back at the camera.A reflective triangular frame is mounted around
the camera lens so he can see whether the light is being accurately reflected at the camera, or moves through the
scene with a small flashlight to draw the light in long waves.Because Sato is constantly moving throughout the long
exposure, he is invisible in the photograph. Only the points of light show evidence of his movement. 

His works are held in major museums and are presented as large and medium scale black-and-white transparencies
lit from behind so as to heighten the effect of the lights in the image