Kawauchi visited Iceland in 2019 and witnessed geysers that evoked the breath of the earth, glaciers that far surpass the time span of humankind, and the interior of a dormant volcano that resembled a womb, and felt a connection with the planet that he had never felt before. Starting from Iceland, his experiences continued through the COVID-19 pandemic to the nature around his home and the winter land of Hokkaido. In 2022-2023, he held a large-scale solo exhibition, "M/E: Infinite Connections on a Sphere," and unveiled parts of the "M/E" series. "M/E" is still being exhibited in countries around the world.
The title "M/E" is the initials of "Mother" and "Earth", and when read together, it means "Mother Earth" and "Me". It evokes the idea that the eternal existence of nature and the small events that occur in our daily lives are not unrelated, but are inseparably connected. This is Kawauchi's latest work, which goes beyond "Ametsuchi" and "Halo", in which he gained his own perspective while facing nature, to return to the origin of the connection between nature and humans, and reexamines the world even in turbulent times. The book is bound by Hans Gremen, with photographs printed on delicate, thin paper that is almost transparent, and the cloth binding is boldly foil-stamped, making it a book with an appearance like an objet d'art. At the end of the book, there is an essay written in a beautiful letter-like style by Teju Cole, a writer, photographer, and art historian. (Shipping in about 10 days)
