Shizuka Yokomizo was born in Tokyo and lives and works in London. Her bodies of work titled 'dear stranger' and 'sleeping' focus on voyeurism and capture a clear idea similar to one in which i wish to portray myself.
Here I plan to focus primarily on 'dear stranger', a series in which each photograph shows someone looking out through a window. Yokomizo selected addresses and sent an anonymous letter asking if the recipient would stand at a particular time, window, alone, with the lights on, so she could photograph them from the street, where she would be waiting for 10minutes. If they did not wish to participate, they could close the curtains and she would move on; while if they chose to open their door and meet her; the 'stranger' would no longer be a stranger and the photograph would not be used. The only contact the photographer had with her subject would simply be eye contact lasting for ten minutes.

Yokomizo was unable to guarantee anything about the image; from subject looks and behaviour to even if they'd be stood there; she simply knew that she would be there, waiting.

The focus of Yokomizo's photography is the gap between self and other; the unavoidable space between 'me' and 'you'. Her subject is almost always a single person, isolated, alone, but her presence is always felt.

The terms of the encounter between photographer and subject are always rigidly constructed and known, and this relationship defines the resulting image. There is always an awareness of ones own presence in relation to another.

Whilst studying the series 'dear stranger', I question where the power lies. Yokomizo relies on her subject to consent to make her images; they make or break her entire series. However; her subjects seem so uneasy in a place they should feel the complete opposite; their home. They are made to feel incredibly aware of their presence in the world in relation to the photographer, the balance has been shifted in favour of the camera.

Yokomizo, S. (2002) Shizuka Yokomizo. Milan: Electa; MACRO.