Last summer, I went to Japan and took photographs with the theme of "Goodbye, Strangers." At first, I was randomly capturing the passersby, but later, I felt that the words “goodbye” and "unknown strangers" were paradoxical. After all, you can't say farewell to someone you've never greeted. Therefore, I reinterpreted the theme.

I photographed strangers, but I wanted to capture more than just unfamiliar faces. I aimed to photograph people with whom I could connect and say goodbye to meaningfully. Thus, while those I photographed and I were technically strangers – foreigners to one another, even – I wanted to challenge this notion through connection, however fleeting.