From a residency in the Aizu region of Japan, Julia Hetta presents a saga as true as it is poetic: a Japanese boy seeks the innermost spirit of Art, makes the long journey to Sweden – and ends up back in Japan.
ABOUT Julia Hetta
Julia Hetta is a Swedish photographer renowned for her quiet, painterly compositions. Shaped by an acute sensitivity to natural light, her images possess a restrained yet unmistakable force, earning her wide international acclaim.
Her latest work, Songen, was produced as part of the Sigma Foundation and its residency program in Aizu, Japan—home to Sigma’s only manufacturing facility. Accompanied by her longtime friend and former assistant, Shin Yatagai, she traveled to Aizu for the first time.
As she moved between her native Sweden and the unfamiliar landscape of Aizu, Hetta discovered unexpected points of resonance between the two places. In this shifting context, roles quietly reversed: Shin, once an outsider in Hetta’s home city of Stockholm, became the host in Aizu. Through this subtle inversion, Hetta re-engaged with Shin’s character and way of thinking, arriving at a shared sensibility shaped by nature, silence, dignity, and mutual respect.
The word “songen” (dignity in Japanese) emerged naturally from Shin’s inner reflections, and has a serendipitous connection to the word “sången” (song in Swedish). It became both the title of the book and the key concept running through the work.
The relationship between Julia and Shin, and that between Sweden and Aizu in Japan, are woven together through her fundamental approach to image-making—working with nothing but herself and the camera. From this origin, a quiet and beautiful saga unfolds.
