Mimicking Wraiths with Mattias Westfalk
Mattias Westfalk shares with us the roots and radicals of his interwoven stories through words, photographs, and music.
Hello, Mattias! It’s great to have you here on Parallel Planets. Tell us about yourself as a photographer, before you became one, and if you weren’t one.
Hi Svart Katt (a.k.a. Kuro Neko) and Parallel Planets, thanks for having me. I have come to an elevated point where I have the feeling that the label as one ‘Photographer’ doesn’t fit me as well as it used to, something in the lines of ‘Observer’ falls better in line with what I do or who I am at this stage. A mere ghost observing the world around me with a camera. I neglect all the trends and needs to be what is regarded to be a ‘Photographer’ of today’s standard. But I do have cameras and like to use them as often as the mood is right, i.e. when the ‘light’ is present and my eyes are open and free. In regards to be able to freely take pictures that mean something more than just displaying an general image I have for the last 6 years put my ‘Pro-photographer’ status to a rest. The reason for this move ‘back to’ being an amateur was due to the needs I felt I couldn’t fulfill as a pro. To keep my love for exploring with a camera and fully doing it my way was a necessary step in the right direction even if I shoot less on a daily basis now I have reached a higher level of understanding and acceptance in a way. I guess this is what ‘develop ones senses’ means.
Where is your hometown? How did you come to living and working in Japan? What’s the most photogenic place in Japan for you?
I live and call Berlin my ‘home’ this Autumn/winter, otherwise I have by now called Tokyo ‘home’ many times the last 16 years. Singapore and Bangkok, I know rather well by now as well having lived in both. Home is where the heart is as the saying goes, a place that you feel at ease in and where you can feel happily observant. I walked across the Swiss Alps this summer, I felt at home there for sure. The hardship and beauty of the road can be the best home you can have. How I ended up in Japan? I went to Japan to see a friend many years ago, and stayed. Never had a fascination with Japan per se, just happen to be the place where she was from. An interesting place for sure and keeps you on your toes being out of your comfort zone where languages and ethic principles are so ‘different’ (I never use the word ‘strange’) and ‘twisted’ from any other place on the planet. You have been there Erin, you might know what I mean. I met many good people in Tokyo and just stayed. Was jobless when I arrived in ’99 and decided to give my passion for photography an honest chance and ended up having photography as my profession up till 2009, around 10 years all together.
The most photogenic place in Japan is not a place, it’s a mood, a connected set of feelings falling in place and if you know your shit and happen to be in that mood at the right location then you will get some good images. As you would anywhere, any country or place I guess. Humans and people doesn’t really interest me as a photographic ‘subject’, people are rather overrated I think. I do often use people for composition and scale but not on a very humanistic level I guess, this is generally speaking and falls most natural to me, I don’t know. Going out in the woods and shot trees and rocks gives me so much more satisfaction on so many levels. Some projects are based on people though…shooting bands and the people involved in the scene for examples, but even then there is something else than the actual hu-man or wo-man being the true harbinger of interest. I have had the added plus of being a total outsider and misfit in Japan during the years and this has enabled me to focus harder on one specific ‘thing’, in my case photography then lately writing. But, back to your question: if I would choose a ‘place’ that I always get drawn into, it would be the skyscraper district in western Shinjuku, a part of Tokyo. There are ‘lines’ mixed with sky in that area that can be greatly appealing in the right light. Street photography in Ginza can be rewarding as well, it’s all about the ‘feel’ of the place I guess.
When did you first venture into photography? Compared to then and now, was there a significant change in your sense of style and/or the message that you’d like to communicate through your pictures?
Hmmm… I have never been directly interested in the mechanical instrument that the cameras is per se and started shooting rather late I guess, late teens perhaps. I have always been drawn to ‘the image’ more that the process of getting it, and have come to understand that it takes the right tool to reach that goal. Simple is always best in photography as in many other ventures I life. I found the right ‘tools’ to be able to express that urge and kept at it. I have by now experimented with countless cameras and medium and managed to boil it down to a very limited arsenal of cameras and lenses. I will not go into the technicality here but I can by now almost carry all my equipment with me if so needed. A step up and forward from having a studio with gear, stuff that clouded ones vision where impossible images made possible due to the equipment and gear you had at your disposal. Now I have a small but very hard core unit, once again reflects back on who you are and what you stand for. I trust this equipment and know its limitations as well as my own and can’t stress enough how important the ‘Less Is More’ philosophy is. This goes for more or less anything in life actually. When I started out I just wanted to have my pictures published, either it be online or in a printed publication. And to be able to make enough money to live and travel on my photography. And I managed to do just this. Travel has always been the main aim and real reason for any actions in terms of any of the different professions I have held so far. I have developed my ‘own style’ by now and it’s more interesting on a personal level even if it doesn’t fit in today’s clarity based ‘style’ and overproduced ‘look’. The ‘fad’ of today and yesterday differs hugely and will keep on changing further and further away from reality as we see it. The general population don’t choose what they want to see and often it’s based on what is ‘in vogue’, a fad. Far from seeking that ‘perfect picture’ magazine shot I now mainly have my own personal goals, I can now go totally rouge, outlaw style to get what I can consider worthwhile…ha ha ha. Raw Power.
You shoot both in color and black & white. When do you prefer using one medium from the other? Do you have specific subjects that you only like to shoot in monochrome? Or does it just depend on what you feel like using for that particular moment?
Life as we see it is in color so in certain situations an image can ‘pop’ more having colors in it, makes it connected to the moment and the movement in a way. I always disliked the old school elitist thinking of many peers that black & white or monochrome is the only way. Though, the raw power of a B&W image done right can be more powerful than anything else. Personally at this moment I find myself in the B&W images more now than in the earlier years. I met lots of fellow photographers that has a hard time to ‘find’ the image in Black & White (same folks usually having the same dilemma dealing with flash/strobe and ‘short’ wide angle lenses). I feel at home in both camps, always have and move between them with ease. Follow your sense and know your aim. Allow yourself to get goofy with both your gear and senses.
How do you go about your creative process — from the conception of ideas to the execution of your thoughts onto the photographs?
I don’t do random-by-chance type of photography. I set out to do one thing and stick to it. I’m a simple guy with a simple mind when it comes to the ‘creative process’. If the right mood or feel isn’t there I don’t bother to even bring a camera with me out. But it all grows out of an idea, then it’s up to only yourself to either grab it and go with it or let it pass. Sometimes the best image is the one that you don’t take. I often get great shots pass because I have set my mind to something else and to honor that decision I don’t bother with anything else. Important for me to know what you want (as well as don’t want) and even if the ‘why’ isn’t that clear the want is. It’s for a reason you should shoot what you shoot, could be a personal reason or to express something, or even only to be able to show someone. I delete stuff I don’t want even if the image is good, never keep it out of sentimental values or because one day I may get usage for it. I leave that way of storing and manage images to the professional stock photographers to deal with. To have a White Elephant placed in the pack of your mind will weight down on you, light and free is the way to go.
Do you mainly use analogue or digital? Why do you favor one from the other? How does photography relate to your personality and your personal stories?
I have NEVER used Photoshop, I don’t know how it works. Guess I would be able to learn but never had the will or need to get into it. It’s overrated for what I do. I use a much more simplified software that limits how much you can fuck up an original digitally captured image. I shoot both digital and analog and know how to use these mediums equally well. There is a thinking process that differs hugely between shooting digital or analog and I grew up with film cameras and like the thought process behind this. To give yourself room to be confident and know that you have what you want. I like and use both, both are equally useful and serves a purpose in the right situation. I am in the luxury situation now that I don’t have to think about producing ‘picture perfect’ magazine images for some stressed out editor that will tamper with the ‘files’ to suit his need in the end anyways. I can shoot what I want, the way I like it for the moment and just enjoy the process of observing and seek out images that I like to look at, images that make sense to me. I’m a complete egoist when it comes to my own images these days, the way it should be and have to be I believe. I couldn’t care less of what other people think of my images since I am shooting for me (even when you shoot for someone else you can not and should not deviate from your own self, it will end up being a mistake in the long run). I have learned that going back to be an amateur gave me room to explore my own side of imagery, the stuff I shoot nowadays is very personal and reflect who I am more than in the earlier years. Most of my work I don’t show to anyone (same with my writings, which I many times print and burn after writing). I truly like this and it turns out that the images most close to me happen to have been shot with a film camera. What I choose to show I usually post on my blogs.
Tell us more about your photo series on the underground music scene in Tokyo. What was the best experience you had during this project?
The best experience is obviously to see and be part of a very DIY underground movement created by creative minded people. Music plays a huge part of my daily life and I am glad that I have had the chance, and still get the chance, to be able to ‘pull my straw to the stack’ and contribute with something that I have found out is receiving a positive feedback from the folks involved. I made a low budget Zine with some of the images. Maybe a Part II would be in place since I have a big body of work from these sessions. There is no and has never been any monetary profit involved in any of my music related projects I have started and many thanks due to this the payback has been priceless, money and profit clouds the mind and can not be the reason for taking pictures. I shoot quite often bands promotion stuff when I’m in Tokyo, Pro Bono. My last big project I covered was a Death Metal festival in Finland last September. This “story” was published by CVLT Nation, an American music/art/film inter-net site. Self sponsored and totally free reins to do my thing, due to this it was fun to focus on. Also a great way to help the organizers to get the event out in the open a little more.
Which iconic photographers do you look up to and how do their works influence and inspire yours?
Steve McCurry from the early days (and still) and lately Vivian Maier. But I’m trying to get as little influences from anyone for the last 6 years or so. To develop your own path and follow it willingly is something I pay more attention to these days than to study others. But in the past I lay my hands on as much photography literature I could, studied and tried to understand with an open and eager mind how and why these images spoke to me as they did. I studied other peoples work, including painters and illustrators every chance I got and learned so much from this. It’s better to know what you DON’T want or need instead of just focusing on what you DO want and think you need. I have very few photographer friends and more or less stopped getting involved with the photographic world if not for the occasional workshop or project that interest me, mainly out of boredom to be honest. I haven’t bought new camera equipment for a long time. The last camera I bought was a little digital thing so I could travel more freely. I shot the Vatican and Rome with it, worked great. Use what you have, have what you need.
To you, what makes a photograph worth framing and hanging on the living room wall?
One that doesn’t suck, anything else goes. The other day I was having a meal in a pretty basic and dull restaurant here in Berlin where a black & white photograph of an open sea in turmoil taken from a high angle (from a boat I guess) was hanging in a somehow ‘forgotten’ corner of the restaurant. Very emotional/fast and rather ill fitting in the environment it was hanging in, but that picture made sense to me. A photograph is a photograph is a photograph in the eye of the beholder.
But wherever I call home at that moment I seldom hang up photos if they are not taken by friends and given to me as gifts. My own photos I don’t care to look at everyday, it would stress me out…too personal.
Aside from taking pictures, what other creative pursuits are you interested in?
I’m the ‘little’ man, my own master, a drifter and observer and I have dedicated my being to be one, so when I don’t let photography speak for my creative ‘me’ I write and live as a nomad. I’m trying to live a creatively enhancing lifestyle as much as I can, of course. Not easy but rewarding when it works out, and I am still alive and physically (even mentally alright, ha ha ha) well so from a general humanistic viewpoint I am doing alright I think, right?!
What are your ongoing projects? Do you have any upcoming shows?
Not much, except putting up some stuff on my blog(s). I have been drifting heavily the last 5–6 years and explored other areas, other paths. I am leaning more and more into finding the written word as another medium of expression, sometimes with photography as a backup to these texts. Very rewarding to give new life to an image with a text or vice versa. I have never liked to exhibit and will most probably stay out of this ‘scene’ also in the coming future. If someone else wants to exhibit my work I would go and check it out, but to sit in an empty gallery for a couple of weeks just to feed my own ego would be creative suicide. I think there are a couple of Zines on the way with my photos in them, that’s about all. Well, I am putting together a ‘thing’ based on a very good friend of mine, he interests me greatly and we can feed of each other on many creative levels. All shot in 35mm B&W film with a 35mm lens. Can’t get more raw power than that in my world.
If you were to pick 3 for each, what are your all-time favorite books, films (cinema), and songs?
Well… I am reading Ben Okri, ‘The age of Magic’ right now. But other books I really like were ‘The Hours’ by Michael Cunningham, ‘SteppenWolf’ by Herman Hesse and anything written by George Orwell (and Annie Proulx…and most Hemmingway as well…ha ha ha). Hard to pin point it, so much great literature out there and I am in constant search after new materials, as the saying goes; “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”.
Films… Hmmm… I’m a sucker for documentaries and I don’t know many blockbuster’s that has been falling in my taste. I would say documentaries like ‘The Bridge’, ‘Kumare’ are pretty enlightening…as well as ‘Finding Sugarman’ and ‘Anvil the Story of’…and anything by Werner Hertzhog??? Oops…more than three again.
Now, songs! I checked my iTunes library on what songs I’d played the most after reading this question, turns out that ‘Ace of Spades’ by MotörHead was played the most, 308 times. Maybe that reflects somewhat who I am sound wise (raw, simple and loud) but my interest in music is so broad that it is even silly to try to narrow it down to only three. Right now a song by ‘The Posies’ is playing loud in my small room, ‘Coming right along’. The there is ‘Hope there’s someone’, a song by ‘Antony and the Johnsons’ that stayed in my head all day not long ago. But in general I like Death Metal and Grind Core (going to a Napalm Death gig tonight)…and Joy division…and The Cure.
In this planet that we’re thriving in —
What is your power animal?
Oh, I don’t have one. A mixed breed street mutt in a Chinese leather glove factory perhaps?…I dunno.
Who is your alternate ego?
My other self? Hmm…most probably The Steppenwolf (From Herman Hesse’s novel with the same title).
In an alternate universe where photography does not exist —
What would your name be?
Frank Savage.
What would you be doing instead?
I’d be an oceanographer.
Mattias Westfalk is also be found on the following online spaces:
www.mwcpjapan.blogspot.com — An online diary kinda thing for me to remember stuff I’ve shot and so on. Goes back years. Lots of good stuff on there, some less good as well.
www.the35mmeye.blogspot.com — Needed to get a 35mm thing done once to see where it would take off to. It didn’t really but the journey making it was great, became a collection of black & white 35mm images instead. Fair enough, just photos after all.
www.franksavagewords.blogspot.com — An idea blog based on musical lyrics that then became a whole new animal on it’s self, a completely deeper and a more sinister monster. Texts and poems that I don’t burn I will post here. Read it and weep.
Instagram — @mattias_westfalk
Would you like Parallel Planets to feature your work? Share your black & white planet through us! Our international call for creative contributions is always open — read the complete guidelines and requirements here.
