Ki: Michael Levin

I first came across Brad Kremer’s video work in late 2010 and I was immediately engaged. His video Hayaku is like a poem told through time-lapse photography. I felt moved along by the kinetic energy in the piece and he had me hooked. Since I needed some video footage shot in Japan for a separate project, I contacted Brad with a basic pitch and by the time we met up for sushi and beers about a month later in Fukuoka he had brainstormed a better idea.

Over the years I’ve built up a collection of key images photographed in Japan. I’ve been fortunate to have travelled extensively throughout the country and to have taken in all the incredible places that make it so special. So I wanted to see how Brad might reveal my own personal experience of witnessing Japan, particularly the casual moments that still never seem ordinary to me. I do a lot of waiting and watching and I wasn’t sure how Brad could make those long stretches interesting. But he has a natural instinct for storytelling and was able to spin the various shots of me working in different locations into a seamless story. The video speaks for itself and we had a blast shooting it.

At the start I thought that this would be a one-off project but it turned out to be something bigger. All credit for the concept and beauty of the piece goes to Brad but it’s inspired me to see if there are other ways that we might work together in the future. I believe that creativity can be a shared experience. So I think that this unexpected partnership will result in other projects. Stay tuned.



Music: Royksopp

Brad Kremer: vimeo.com/​bradkremer