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Radiant and seductive, Tokyo Rumando’s new photobook “Paris Iridescent” is a physical condensation of the video series “The Story of S” (with Toshihiro Oshima, 2015–) in printed form. With images extracted from the works “Paris Peep Hole” (2018), “Narrating LIPS” (2018), and “Disco Red Dress [stop-motion cinema]” (2017), Rumando takes the reader on a journey of shapes, colors, lust, and longing.

This is the story of S.
S is Show.
S is Es, id.
S is Sexual Violet.
S is Seduction.
S is Seeing.

For the creation of Paris Iridescent, some of the films from “The Story of S” (since 2015) were matured over several years, reconstructed and re-cut as this Paris edition. This is the first in the series, to be followed by a second and third.

The video work “The Story of S” is a project I started with Oshima more than ten years ago. My main role was to create the performance and the concept. Exploring the meaning of “S” is a motivating theme derived from my own memory — it is a place for me to experiment with new perspectives, different video techniques and performances, and a media space where creations with a high degree of freedom can be accumulated and connected together.

As those who have seen the videos may know, the video begins with a close-up of my legs as I continue to walk in high heels. This continuous walking performance is very important to me. It reflects how I am constantly moving forward. And on my way forward I make a series of stops — artworks — and my path is gradually completed.

In this first part (Paris) I mainly use footage from my live performance in Paris. The audience watched my performance through small peepholes.

The book colourfully illustrates the relationship between their desire to look through the peephole and their relationship with “S”.

― Tokyo Rumando

It has been more than 10 years since I started collaborating with Tokyo Rumando on video projects.

Due to the turmoil after the Great East Japan Earthquake, we decided not to focus on a specific direction and just did what we could, guided by the inspiration that came to our minds from time to time, keeping each other motivated.

When we first started, we vaguely agreed that this project itself would not be a destination, but a waypoint, connecting the dots. We imagined that recording the journey from the opening of one door to the opening of the next would itself become a kind of art.

Over the past ten years, the phases of the works we have been working on have changed, and we have reached a turning point with the video exhibition at the Folkwang Museum in Germany in 2020 and at the Zen Foto Gallery in 2021.

The publication of the trilogy as an anthology in print by Zen Foto Gallery was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise for me, as I had only thought in terms of visual media.

Having worked with the imaginary image of the image, which flows like a liquid and does not retain a specific form, I am excited to see the essence of creation crystallised in the world as a book.

But... This is probably just another [transition point] in this project... It may be a journey until the next door opens.

― August 2024 Toshihiro Oshima

Screening History of Tokyo Rumando’s “The Story of S”

2021 Zen Foto Gallery (Tokyo)
2020 Folkwang Museum (Germany)
2019 Unseen Amsterdam IBASHO booth (Amsterdam)
2018 Daiwa foundation Japan house Gallery (London)
2017 Unseen Amsterdam living room talk show (Amsterdam)
2016 Vacant (Tokyo)
2016 Taka Ishii Gallery Paris (Paris)

Tokyo Rumando was born in 1980 in Tokyo. While working as a model for movies and magazines, she began shooting photographs in 2005. Self-taught, she mainly photographs her self-nude portraits and portraits of Rakugo artists. Her series “Orphee” has been presented in a group exhibition “Performing for the Camera” at Tate Modern (London, 2016). Her solo exhibitions include, ”I’m only happy when I’m naked” Ibasho Gallery (Antwerp, 2018); Taka Ishii Gallery Photography Paris (2016), “Orphée” TokyoLightRoom; Place M; Zen Foto Gallery (Tokyo, 2014), “REST 3000~ STAY 5000~,” Zen Foto Gallery (2012), “Hotel Life,” Place M (Tokyo, 2012). Her photobooks include selfpolaroids (Zen Foto Gallery, 2017), Orphée (Zen Foto Gallery, 2014) and REST 3000~ STAY 5000~ (Zen Foto Gallery, 2012).