Mémoires 1983

A landmark in Furuya’s life-long Mémoires project, Mémoires 1983 reconstructs one year—month by month—by placing his photographs alongside the handwritten diary entries of Christine Furuya-Gössler. In late 2005, Furuya decided to read and translate Christine’s notes for the first time; in 2006 he completed the Japanese translation and edited the book, making Christine’s voice part of the work for the first time. The choice of 1983 is crucial: this was when he first noticed the symptoms of Christine’s depression; two years later she died in East Berlin. The book turns a once single-voiced narrative into a duet, and sets a benchmark for photobooks as a site of memory and ethics. It received the Society of Photography (Japan) Award in 2007.

メモワール 1983╱Mémoires 1983

古屋誠一╱Seiichi Furuya

赤々舎（Akaaka Art Publishing）╱2006╱22.8 × 19.3 cm╱312 pp.╱Monochrome&Color

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