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“I didn't tell people that both my parents had died until a certain time. There was a time when I talked about my family as if they were still here. I don't know, but I think my mother and father probably influenced me. When I think about why I used to lie like that.

I had to admit somewhere that my family was far from the ideal I had imagined, but I didn't want to admit it out in the open. So in front of my friends, I dreamed of an imaginary family...I used to think of my family as something that I really hated, something I didn't want to be known, something that was a shameful part of myself.” –Hajime Kimura

Three Books is pleased to announce the publication of a series of books entitled 'koe project'. This series will unravel the work of photographers and artists who, through the medium of 'photography', face society, the times and personal conflicts and issues head-on and create work through their own voices, 'koe' in Japanese.

The first volume in the series is 'Family of Lies' by photographer Hajime Kimura. The artist has created and exhibited powerful and poetic black-and-white photographs of matters and existence that are little known or forgotten in Japanese society, such as "matagi" bear hunters, the circumstances and drama of racehorses, and marginalised communities. His exhibitions have been held in many parts of the world and many of his projects have been published. Some of his recent works focuse on his own family. As the title of this book, 'Family of Lies', suggests, why did he start producing works about his family, despite the intense feelings he had towards his own family? What happened between himself and his family? And how does he think about and perceive the idea of 'family'?

This book is composed of Kimura's beautiful and poetic photographic works and interviews.