Oooiインタビュー：直感的な作品と抽象写真、そして「ここにいてもいい」という感覚
Oooi is a Japanese abstract photographer who captures reflections and daily subtleties with vibrant Y2K digican aesthetic. She transforms ordinary details into a quiet kaleidoscope. In her words, her work is about indescribable sensations and a sense of security- that “it’s okay to be here.“
Ahead of her march exhibition “Jakubi” (Fragile Beauty) to be held in Gifu, I talked to her about her aspirations and inspirations.
抽象写真家Oooi（オーイ）は、水面に反射する光や日常の断片を抽象的に切り取り、ノスタルジックなY2Kデジカメの色彩感覚と融合させる日本の写真家だ。ありふれた瞬間を、静かで個人的な感情の万華鏡へと変えていく。その作品には、言葉にならない感覚や、「ここにいていい」というごく小さな安心感が宿っている。
３月に岐阜で開催される展覧会「弱美」を前に、彼女の抱負やインスピレーションについて聞いた。
Where does a photo start for you?
写真はどこから始まるのか｜直感から生まれる抽象表現
When I make my work, I don’t decide anything in advance. I photograph moments that feel beautiful to me before I start thinking, not for someone else, but first and foremost to fill myself. I’m drawn to ambiguity, quiet fluctuations, and kinds of beauty that don’t have names.
When did you start taking photography seriously?
写真と向き合い始めたきっかけ｜美術館で感じた感情
Rather than being influenced by photographers or photography itself, I’m influenced by the emotions I feel when encountering abstract paintings and installations. I want to express emotions that can’t be put into words through photography.The quiet feeling of thinking “it’s okay for me to be here” while looking at artworks in museums is at the root of my practice.
I started taking photographs after being taken to various museums by someone close to me. When I encountered abstract paintings and installation works, I remember thinking for the first time how beautiful this world is, and that this might be where I belong.
After that, I began experimenting with different forms of expression — drawing with pens, painting with oil and acrylics. Along the way, photography naturally became a way for me to keep small moments of beauty I found in everyday life.
I’m enamoured with how you get these colours from pond reflections. What’s your editing process like?
色彩と編集について｜直感的なデジタルプロセス
Honestly, my editing process is very simple. I edit in the same way I photograph — intuitively. Rather than relying on advanced features, I value being able to stay as close as possible to my own sense of touch and feeling when working with an image.
For me, editing is not about restoring a photograph or recreating the exact moment it was taken. It’s an act of continuing to face the image, guided by the feeling of “I want to see you more.” Especially with water, editing feels less like adjusting an image and more like responding to a quiet conversation. “You are beautiful here.” “I want to see more of you.” I respond in the moments when I feel this way. As if answering that feeling, the photograph gently comes closer and quietly fills me. I wait, calmly, for that moment of being filled.
I usually don’t share before-and-after images. Editing is a very intuitive and personal process for me, and I prefer to keep that part private. The changes may appear subtle, or sometimes more internal than visible, so I prefer to let the final photograph speak for itself.
What’s been inspiring you lately?
最近のインスピレーションと展示への思考
Recently, I’ve been thinking about whether photographs really need to be neatly framed and displayed. I wonder if they can exist in a more casual, everyday way— closer to life itself.
At the same time, I don’t want to treat my work carelessly. I’m searching for a way of presenting photographs that feels free, without diminishing their value.
I recently opened an art gallery, where I’ll be holding an exhibition in March. I’m thinking about how to shape an exhibition that holds the feeling of “it’s okay to be here,” and the desire to be happy, and to let others feel happiness too.
Can you tell more about this feeling of “It’s okay to be here”? Is it about belonging, a place to relax, or something else?
「ここにいていい」という感覚について
For me, “it’s okay to be here” is a very quiet feeling. When I encounter a work that truly draws me in, I feel gently wrapped by it — as if it’s softly saying, “You’re okay as you are. You can stay here.” It’s a sense of belonging, but it’s also about warmth and rest. A moment where nothing is expected of me, where I don’t need to explain myself or try to become anything else. It’s simply the feeling of being allowed to exist as I am. Through my work, and through the spaces I create in exhibitions, I hope to gently hold that feeling for someone else, too.
Are there any pieces of art that make you feel this?
影響を受けた映画・音楽・アート
One film that left a deep impression on me is Neon Genesis Evangelion. I find it very hard to put the feeling into words — moments where a particular scene is paired with unexpected music still surprise me. Somehow it feels calming, yet my emotions overflow all at once. I still clearly remember how I felt the first time I watched it.
Lux Æterna is another important one. I don’t usually absorb films as linear stories — instead, I’m drawn to fragments, textures, and individual moments. The flashing sequences in this film give me a strange sense of relief and safety at the same time. I loved it so much that there was even a period when I thought about creating a “flash box” inspired by it.
Voyage of Time felt like a work that was directly speaking to me. It continuously felt as if it was saying, “It’s okay to be here.” I found it overwhelmingly beautiful. Vortex also had a strong impact on me. It presents two lives simultaneously on split screens — and even though I already struggle to follow a single narrative, being shown two at once made everything dissolve completely. That feeling of not being able to grasp anything intellectually, and instead being flooded with emotion, is something I deeply love.
I don’t listen to a lot of music, but there is one artist I’ve loved for a long time: Ryuichi Sakamoto. On the way to a museum with someone close to me, on a foggy day when light was softly breaking through, they suddenly played Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.
At that moment, tears started flowing for no clear reason, while my body gently swayed. It was a very strange and powerful sensation. Since then, I’ve been deeply immersed in his music. It felt like being wrapped in the feeling of “it’s okay to be here” — as if I had been given an invincible sense of calm.
Can we see a couple photos from the exhibit?
展示予定作品より｜現在検討中の写真
Here are a few photos I’m currently considering for the exhibition. I may still refine the selection, but these reflect the direction I’m thinking about.
Your images have so much motion, have you considered video or short films too?
写真と映像のあいだ｜静止と動きの実験
I’ve actually experimented with video before, in a very casual and intuitive way.
I made a piece that moved from still photographs to video, and then back to still images again. I grew up surrounded by mountains, with a small lake nearby, and I love the sound and atmosphere of that place. I combined those natural sounds with my photographs to create a short video work. It wasn’t something very serious or polished, but through making it, I felt a sense of being fulfilled myself. I like the idea of gently moving between stillness and movement, and letting sound and atmosphere quietly support the images.
If you had an unlimited budget, what would you create?
もし制限がなかったら｜それでも変わらない制作姿勢
Even if I had an unlimited budget, I don’t think anything would change. What I value most isn’t scale or spectacle, but intuition — the quiet feeling of “it’s okay to be here.” That feeling is what guides my work, and it’s something I never want to lose. I like who I am when I follow that instinct, and I want to keep protecting that part of myself, no matter the resources available to me.
That said — if I’m being honest — I might still want to make an absurdly large “flash box” one day. Just as a playful idea, and a reminder that curiosity and play are also part of how I stay connected to that feeling.
Thank you for your answers, I hope your exhibition goes well.
Thanks so much for reading, Branden. I hope everything came across clearly — I’d be really happy if it did.
More of Oooi’s work can be found on her Twitter or Instagram.
Exhibition Information（展示情報）
This exhibition is part of a pre-opening project, so the gallery is still very new and not widely known yet. Even so, I’m doing my best to express the feeling of “it’s okay to be here” through the exhibition.
展示名：弱美（Jakubi / Fragile Beauty）
形式：二人展（抽象写真）
会場：co-creation space ININI
住所：岐阜県岐阜市忠節町3-29 (3-29 Tadachō, Gifu City, Gifu 500-8801)
会期：2026年3月2日〜3月16日 (March 2 – March 16)
本展示はギャラリーのプレオープン企画として開催されます。まだ広く知られていない空間ですが、「ここにいていい」という感覚を、写真と空間を通して表現することを目指しています。
公式ページ (Official page)：
https://inini.jp/exhibition/%e5%bc%b1%e7%be%8e/