Hatachi (二十歳)
Peleg B.
Medium-format color negative film
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Hatachi (二十歳) is the age at which one is considered an adult. I was surprised by how many young people were smoking during my homestay in Japan, often casually and openly. On a boat ride watching the Natsu Matsuri fireworks, I noticed one passenger kept slipping away from the group. Stepping outside for air, I found him and asked if I could take his portrait. Afterward, we talked for a while, and I learned more about his life and how early smoking had become normal for him and many of his friends. This moment is important to me as a reminder of how adulthood can arrive unevenly, sometimes through small habits adopted too young. Using medium-format film, I wanted to preserve that quiet moment and the larger social struggles behind it.
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To me, creativity means expressing yourself without the limitations of language or judgment. This doesn't mean working without constraints, as I find I am most creative when most limited.
