At Dawn The Flowers Open The Gates of Paradise
2017, 15 minutes
A Japanese maid in a hotel recalls lost love
Akiko arrives in England from Japan hoping to distance herself from the emotional attachment with a man, Takahama, who, after a 10 year relationship, has abandoned her for another woman. Akiko works in a London hotel as a housekeeper. She is isolated, connecting with people only through the belongings in their rooms, and still yearns for a sign from Takahama that he wants her to return. Akiko finds refuge in a personal project – taking photographs of hotel guests’ used bed sheets, like a sculpture printed by people sleeping and the sleeplessness from previous nights. When Akiko hears that Takahama has remarred, she spirals into a cocoon of loneliness, longing and regret – remembering past loves, past loses and wanting to escape from a world in which she cannot be reconciled.