Postcards from the Darkroom IV

Postcards from the Darkroom Series

“Back by popular demand, Postcards from the Darkroom is a feature on Haptic Press by Sean Lotman. All images posted will be scans of his color prints handmade in his darkroom. A lover of narrative and color and travel, Sean hopes to tell a story or at least convey a feeling. He is the author of Sunlanders (Available for a limited time in the HAPTIC SHOP).”

IV.

Sometimes it really is all about connections. I have a friend whose father is a big fan of sumo and is a friend of a coach based in Osaka. Early winter mornings, in a very ordinary suburban neighborhood is a nondescript building, I’ve been invited to several sessions to watch them practice. It is startling to see these athletes collide. Sometimes the victories are decisive but often it appears like an immovable object is meeting an irresistible force, particularly during that moment of impact when two aggressively trained bodies meet with focused momentum. You don’t see how one of them can give and then one does and when you’re watching up close, a few meters away, it is as exciting as any contest of wills you’ve ever seen. So it was fascinating for me to view the wrestlers after a fierce practice session looking so vulnerable in prostate positions on the mat. It was a whole new of seeing them.

Pick up a copy of Sean Lotman’s Sunlanders available for a limited time in the HAPTIC SHOP.

Sean Lotman x Haptic Featured Artist

A native of Los Angeles, California, Sean Lotman is based in Japan. Having spent most of his twenties and thirties working on narrative fiction, he is now focused on photography, particularly color darkroom printing. His first photo book, Sunlanders, was published in London by Bemojake in September, 2016. He is currently working on his second book, Blown Zen Moments, which pairs prints made with the Dian f+ toy camera with haiku poetry. He lives in Kyoto with his wife, the photographer Ariko Inaoka, and their young son, Tennbo.