News Paper Kazuma Obara

This is a photo book by photographer Kazuma Obara and writer Akihiko Mori, presenting the results of their reporting at the Kyoto Shimbun—one of Japan's oldest regional newspapers—in the form of an art book that uses the exact same paper and printing methods as a real newspaper.

It features a structure where 13 newspaper sections, printed on the actual rotary presses used for newspaper production, are bound together using detachable fasteners.

In addition to its dual nature as both a "newspaper" and a "photo book," it allows the reader to transition back and forth between two states: the archived newspaper and the distributed newspaper.

The creation of a newspaper involves information gathered by reporters being sent to the editorial department. Once the content is proofread and the layout is finalized, it is printed on a rotary press, cut, folded, and finally delivered to people's mailboxes and storefronts by delivery personnel.

Given this background, the newspaper is a medium that distributes information through the direct physical actions, thoughts, and labor of many individuals. Furthermore, because it is delivered daily, it is accompanied by inherent geographical and physical limitations.

This work frames these limitations—spanning from the publication to the distribution of the newspaper—as the threshold of information that human beings can responsibly manage.

It critically re-evaluates the significance of the newspaper's existence in modern society, attempting to reconsider the unique value inherent to newspapers as distinct from newly emerging media platforms like the Internet and social media.

Although the entire text is written in English, a separate booklet containing the Japanese translation is included.