About Iwauko Murakami, a senior freelancer

Our guest this time was a college classmate of mine, Ms. Iwauko Murakami.
Since we usually communicate through postcards, it was quite an interesting experience for me to talk to her in a virtual space, as I felt that civilization has evolved quite a bit.
When I helped Iwauko move to a new house a long time ago, the movers could not install the washing machine properly, and we were wondering what to do. I don't have that card, but I'm not sure what it was about. I don't have the card....

Profile of Iwauko Murakami
Born in 1986 in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Murakami graduated from Musashino Art University's Graduate School of Art and Design with a degree in photography in 2012. Studied under photographer Hiroshi Yamazaki. She works on photographic works and projects while correlating personal memories and identities with social events and living environments.
Solo exhibitions include "Known Unknown" at Nikon Salon (2021, 2022), "HOME works 2015" at Tokyo Wonder Site Shibuya (2015), and group exhibitions including "'Words and Images' Vol. 3: Photography Speaks for Itself" at Kanzan Gallery (2017). The 23rd Jun Miki Award (2022).

A virtual live-stream of the day's event will also be available on YouTube, so be sure to check it out!

My high school art teacher abandoned my drawing instruction.
（I did not think about studying abroad (to study English).
If I ever thought about getting a job, it was that I didn't want to get a job.
In my late 20s, there was a moment when I felt that all my various experiences were being put into production.
Talent grows better when it is left alone.
I am satisfied with (my) choice of school.

The avatar looks quite like her.

Murakami-san has been interested in photography since junior high school and joined the photography club in high school.
After graduating from high school, she chose photography as his career path and wished to go on to art university.
At the time, no preparatory art school in Sendai offered a course specifically for visual arts majors, so she consulted with her high school art teacher about applying to art school. She was given a sketchbook and tried to draw some sketches, but the teacher made the unexpected suggestion, "Let's study English! and decided to focus on English and essays.
It worked, and he successfully entered art school. She began to study photography. On the recommendation of his professor, her tried an internship at a photography studio during his junior year of college and realized that it was not what he wanted to do and that he wanted to produce more, so she went on to graduate school. After that, she worked as a teaching assistant at the university and at the photography center of Geidai, which means she has been at the university for a total of 10 years...

While working as a teaching assistant, she decided to participate in an international photography summer school in Latvia and resumed studying English. Toward the end of her tenure as a teaching assistant, she took the TOEIC as a trial and got a good score, which led her to work as a contractor in a job specializing in English. She is still working on her skills and working as a photographer.

As for school, she said that the habit of studying in high school helped her later in life. She told us that she enjoyed her time in college so much that she can say it was a treasure of her life, and that since most people come to college with a sense of purpose, they have a good chance of meeting good people.
What you should do when you are a student is to know what you do not want to do. She told us that even if you don't know what you want to do, you can get closer to what you want to do by not doing what you don't want to do.

I have the impression that Iwauko has been working on her assignments in a nonchalant and silent manner since college. I think she said at the time that she could make people feel that they were not just ordinary people. That is too interesting. And I think it is true.
There are many things about this episode of Iwauko, but basically, I like that she doesn't read the air. When she was going to celebrate a friend's birthday with a surprise, Iwauko, who was extremely late, said, "Sorry I'm late! Happy birthday!" and the surprise was ruined. I thought it was a Shinkigeki.

A high school art teacher abandoned her drawing practice and encouraged her to study English, a development that later became an unexpected weapon in his arsenal.
Thanks to the habit of studying that I acquired in high school, I was able to master English, and the work that I do now, utilizing those skills, supports my current career as an artist. There are many choices in life, and looking back, you may think, "Who would have thought that one word I said at that time would lead to such a thing? I am sure that something like that will happen.

I will ask more about your work the next time you come to see me.
I would also like to hear more about how you study English.
And I look forward to seeing your exhibit at the Nikon Salon in two years!