Ayuni D, a member of the girl group BiSH, which disbanded after their final performance at Tokyo Dome in 2023, and currently serves as the vocalist and bassist of PEDRO, has just released her first photo books, "Obsessed" and "Normal Temperature." "Obsessed" was shot in Barcelona, Spain, while "Normal Temperature" was shot in Helsinki, Finland. With each turn of a page, Ayuni's mysterious gravitational pull makes you feel as if your mind has left your body and you are traveling to a faraway land with her in the photographs. Now that she has completed her journey, she has shared an essay looking back on her encounters with the things that made her heart flutter, along with snapshots of her travels that she took herself.
Ayuni D writes about her heart-fluttering travel experiences
Hello, it's me. Until recently, I was in a group called BiSH. After the group disbanded, I'm now in a band. Ever since the group disbanded, I've been flying wild and charging ahead like I've been released from a cage.
I discovered the brilliance of freedom, but at the same time, I also saw that freedom itself is a maze. I decided to make a photo book to record the uncontrollable emotions and roller coaster-like days so that I would never forget them.
I decided to take this opportunity to travel to Barcelona and Helsinki to free myself from the frustrations of the new world. My travel companion was the lovely and strong photographer, Erina Fujiwara. Erina was living in Thailand at the time of the shoot, and she bought me a necklace because she thought it would look good on me. I couldn't help but feel fond of everything, from the time she chose the necklace to the time she carefully carried it around before giving it to me.
The necklace quickly became my treasure, and I have many more treasures to discover on this journey.
Antique tableware that the owner of a historic pottery shop gave me as a gift, saying, "I don't need any payment for it, as it came all the way from Japan." A leather jacket that I fell in love with at first sight in a second-hand clothing shop that I came across by chance. It had a large flower painted on the back. When I asked, the owner told me that he painted it himself. A Hello Kitty balloon that I bought from a shady balloon seller on the side of the road. A huge pile of tomatoes that were as bright red as paint. Mushrooms that I picked in the mountains. I encountered many things that made my heart flutter.
Even though we couldn't communicate, the kind-hearted people who tried to understand my poor English were also a treasure.
For someone like me who had a habit of not liking things I hadn't tried before and disliked the unknown, and who was afraid of the unknown world, the humanity of the people, who were so accepting, it was as if I was back home, was overwhelmingly warm. As I encountered things that made my heart flutter, I felt reassured that no matter which city I went to, I was still myself. I felt a little sorry for myself for setting off on a journey of self-discovery, with the desire deep in my heart to change the person I hated. Perhaps being alive is surprisingly full of romance.
Maybe there's no need to search for oneself. Because I'm still here, unchanged. And the people and things I love are there too. It was a journey that made me want to live life to the fullest. "Obsession" and "Normal Temperature" - with love from me, a devoted reader of BRUTUS.
