Sydney- and Tokyo-based photographer Sly Morikawa began taking photographs as a form of escape, seeking to create a fictional visual world that could supersede her own. As her practice evolved, however, her approach shifted. She began using her camera to engage more deeply with her immediate surroundings. “I think now it’s less about trying to escape and more about giving myself a reason to live and interact with the world. Photography pulls me out of myself. It allows me to connect with other people and maintain a sense of curiosity and openness and a hunger to know and explore,” she shares. The camera became a conduit for connecting with people and cultures—and, ultimately, a tool for connecting with herself.

Now, Morikawa approaches her practice with a sense of curiosity. “Photography to me is just as much about connecting with a subject as capturing a beautiful image, it’s the stories and memories I have from shooting that make life feel expansive and colourful,” she explains. Morikawa rarely works with a plan when shooting: “I want to follow my own intuition and avoid the noise and distraction.” This organic, almost spontaneous approach results in images that feel as though they were captured in motion, often featuring muted pastels or low-contrast black-and-white tones that create a soft, hazy effect. These soft shades contrast her gritty subject matter, which has included women in clown makeup next to Dobermans, burning cars, hands holding guns, and heavily tattooed bodies. 

After publishing zines for a few years, Morikawa collaborated with publisher Friend Editions to release her debut photo book Devotions. The documentary-style book captures the yakuza families at the Sanja Matsuri festival in Japan. Sanja Matsuri, the largest Shinto festival of the year, is a celebration of culture and religion. It’s one of the few times when spectators (and Morikawa) can catch a glimpse of the yakuza, identifiable by their signature full-body tattoos, or irezumi. Documenting from an outsider’s perspective is a recurring practice in Morikawa’s work. The images in Devotions are no exception.

On Morikawa's horizon is another photo book and accompanying exhibition at Salt and Pepper Gallery in Tokyo this November. The exhibition, City of Roses, will offer a close look at Morikawa’s hometown in Fukuyama, Hiroshima. In these images, she outlines a complex web of love, grief, and memory in a love letter to her mother, ancestors, and city.