Osamu Yokonami explores collective identity through the use of group portraiture. His recent series, Assembly, gently illustrates the philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s idea, which claims that; "individuals have become "dividuals," and masses, samples, data, markets, or ‘banks,’” by focusing on the personality of the group while each individual remains anonymous. The images depict indentically dressed girls acting in unison in familiar, dreamlike landscapes. With a subtle sense of humor, Yokonami creates idyllic, if not surreal, scenes that consider the fine line between innocence and vice and the interconnectedness we have with each other and with nature. Assembly is a macro lens counter-balance to his ongoing series,100 Children, in which Yokonami photographs uniformed schoolchildren, all the same age, holding fruit between the left shoulder and the left ear, demonstrating how uniqueness can shine through homogeneity of a standardized ideal. Osamu Yokonami (b. 1967, Kyoto, Japan) has exhibited in solo and group shows in Tokyo and has participated in the Daegu Photo Biennial. His personal and commercial work is widely known in Japan with his images appearing regularly in numerous publications. Yokonami is based in Tokyo, Japan. undefined

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