‘Monodramatic’: Daisuke Takakura’s mesmerizing clone world | CNN
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‘Monodramatic’: Daisuke Takakura’s mesmerizing clone world
Take a walk through the city of clones... —
And meet the countless lives you could be leading.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
Daisuke Takakura's project "Monodramatic" introduces us to a world where multiple versions of ourselves meet.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
Imagine that each time you decided to do one thing rather than another, a different "self" was created, explains the Japanese photographer.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
What would happen if these "selves" could meet and talk among themselves?
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
"Right now, I'm in an apartment in Paris," explains Takakura by email. "One other self is walking in beautiful midnight air in Paris. Another is sleeping peacefully in my bed with my black cat in Japan." Each one made different choices.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
Takakura imagines a world brimming with "what-ifs," where each person could examine the alternative life they could be living if they had decided differently.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
"I could have graduated university and become an ordinary office worker," says Takakura, 35. "It might be nice to earn a stable income in its own right!"
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
Instead Takakura has chosen a path that combines photography , graphic design, and theater to create unique images.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
What would this world be like? Takakura, from Saitama Prefecture in south-east Japan, says he doesn't think it would be too different -- but perhaps a little more "complex."
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
"But, actually, it may not be a wild conversation," he jokes.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
But there are dangers -- surely -- in meeting the people we could have become. What if they seem happier, better, or more fun? Surely it can't be healthy to dwell on what might have been?
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
"Yes, I think it is healthy to think about it," he replies. "It might be that another self seems better than the real me. But all-in-all, I am I -- I would like to be the me I am today."
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
Takakura began his project three years ago and has no plans to stop. It's his ambition to create a photobook of the work.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
The models are mostly actors, performers, and artist active in small theaters in Tokyo, Takakura says, where the photographer also enjoys spending time: "Some are people I was on stage with."
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
The projects gets its name from the theater: "Monodramatic" describes a dramatic composition written for one performer.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
Monodramatic was recently on show at Fotofever at the Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, from 13 to 15 November.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
The exhibition began on the Friday of the Paris terrorist attacks, giving Takakura cause to think about what might have been -- like many in the city that night -- if they had been elsewhere, or chosen to do something different.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
He continues to focus on the project and remains optimistic about life in his clone world.
Courtesy Daisuke Takakura
Talking to other "selves" could be enriching he says: "I think we could learn from our other selves that there is a variety of ourselves, we have many opportunities."
