Umbilicus: Belly-buttons of Tokyo

Bellybuttons of Japan as seen thru the lens of photographer Ithaka Darin Pappas.Although originally conceived in 1988, it wasn't until the summer of 1992 while briefly living in Japan that Greek-Californian photographer Ithaka Darin Pappas began (and completed) Umbilicus, a photographic collection of one-hundred and twenty-seven bellybutton portraits.With the aid of a translator, Ithaka spent two months exploring the Tokyo area looking for subjects to take part in the project. The task was not an easy one, as many people rejected the invitation out of shyness, made even more difficult by the fact that Ithaka was in fact an outsider. Sometimes it would take an entire day to recruit only one or two willing volunteers.The subjects were often photographed in public places such as streets, parks and beaches (sometimes even in the middle of crowds). Others were photographed in the privacy of their homes or offices.In addition to the Japanese citizens photographed, individuals from China, Denmark, England, Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United States were also included. Tourists were not invited, only residents of Japan. These foreign participants all lived and worked in Tokyo (active in a wide assortment of occupations from dishwasher to scientific investigator). Age of subjects, both Japanese and international, ranged from three years old to ninety-six.The end result is not only a study of human form detail but also an insight into the multi-cultural, rapidly diversifying population of the city of Tokyo, as it was in the year 1992, a kind of impromptu census.The Umbilicus series was first published in 1993 in the Japanese edition of the renowned French photography quarterly Déjà-Vu (Issue #11). The project soon appeared in several other publications in Japan and Europe, and in 1996 appeared on the cover of the American avant-garde magazine called Speak (Issue #3).Umblilicus has been shown as a large format photography exhibition twice to date. Once, at the Instituto Português da Juventude (1993), and again in 1996 at Lisbon's Galeria Zé dos Bois, as part of Ithaka's larger inclusive photography exhibit "Quality Time". Read more