Mikiko Hara

Mikiko Hara is a Japanese photographer known for her snapshot aesthetic portraits of strangers. Most of her photographs are taken in the streets, on public transportation, or in other public spaces, and they speak of the distance and isolation of people in these places—especially women. Hara originally studied philosophy before continuing her graduate studies at the Tokyo College of Photography. Due to the aesthetic of her work, Hara has described her image making as accidental—“photographs of somewhere, yet nowhere.” She has published three monographs—Hysteric Thirteen, These Are Days, and Change—the last for which she received the prestigious Ihei Kimura Photography Award. Hara’s work has been exhibited throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States.