Noah Hirayama-Rubel

Last April, the artist and his family bought plane tickets in a rush to go to his grandparents' house to attend the mourning ceremony of his Baachan, who unexpectedly passed a couple of weeks prior. During his week in Japan, he made cyanotype prints of the nature around him as a way to commemorate his time there and the time he had with his Baachan. It was a weird twist of fate that his time there coincided with the Sakura season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom, a season often lasting as little as two weeks.

These cyanotypes, serving as memories of the rocks, blossoms, and sticks in his Kaasan’s hometown in Japan, are just that: memories. The shadows on this fabric are forever a pure imitation of a short-lived moment, a wilted Sakura that the artist cherishes, but will never see again. Growing up in Vermont, every moment with his Jiichan and Baachan was also a short-lived moment, so going this time to Japan reminded the artist not to forget or ever take for granted any of those moments.