Marlene Marino

Tomo says that my images have the air of post-sex. This is precisely my intention when I meet her on one very grey day in Tokyo. Intimacy in photos is what matters to me most. I try and make pictures that you can look at and actually feel the moment, where you feel the presence of the person and the place. In fact I am only interested in this. I have a need for my models (principally women) to explore this with me. On this particular day it is Tomo who will be my collaborator. Tomo is a talented actress and the guitar player for the band Umi No Yeah! She speaks little English, and I speak no Japanese, but this does not seem to stop us from communicating.

Tomo lives in a studio apartment in an older area of Tokyo called Sangenjaya. My favorite thing about Tomo is her relaxed open energy. My favorite thing about her place is the Japanese style bath. The Japanese bath experience I am told amounts to so much more than just washing. Many Japanese people view sitting in their ofuro soaking tubs as an integral daily ritual similar to eating or sleeping. There are several differences between the Japanese bath and the Western ones. Japanese soaking tubs are generally much deeper, so someone sitting in the tub can easily sink down with the water at chin level. Japanese bath water also tends to be much hotter than what Westerners normally find comfortable. Soaking in this clean, hot water is a time for deep relaxation and contemplation. There is a sensual pleasure and a feeling of well-being and harmony with ones surroundings associated with this. Most people spend about half an hour in the bath every night. It is said that the family tub is an important place for parent-child communication. Tomo soaks two times per day. I ask her if she would mind to demonstrate this personal bodily ritual and she does not. What, I ask, could be more intimate in photos than this?

Tomo Shimazaki for Apartamento #4