Kumi Oguro is a Japanese photographer, based in Antwerp, Belgium since 1999.
Oguro works with female models in staged settings, to create a world without any logical flow or narrative, which is similar to our dreams.
During her twenty-year career, 2 photobooks have been published: NOISE (2008) and HESTER (2021).
The works included in these publications are not from 2 separate series. They are a continuation in which you can find her development, transformation and also what is consistent.
For Kleine Galley No. 4, Oguro has selected works from HESTER, which is a the name of a title character in the novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving. She is drawn to this particular fictional woman, because of her extreme nature; she is an extrovert, aggressive and chaotic, but also sensitive, loving and charming, and Oguro. Affectionately calls all the women in her photographs ‘Hester’.
She has studied photography in London and Antwerp. She also completed studies in film and image studies and culture at the University of Antwerp.