TITLE: Galactic Railroad in Reverberation

My thematic work "Reverb+Graphy" is an attempt to visualize images of current scene and past memories that play like reverberations in the brain. To embody this concept, I use prismatic lens filters that produce an amplifying effect on the subject. (In particular, I use two types of prismatic lens filters: a half-circle kaleidoscope filter that produces an effect on only half of the frame, and a spiral halo filter.)
　This work is a spin-off of my thematic work "Reverb+Graphy". This time, inspired by the world of "Galactic Railroad," I created the series of cosmic and fantastic station photographs. The intent was to create a nostalgic and poetic image of people boarding a train at a galactic station, with a finish reminiscent of afterimages and reverberations.
　In my home country of Japan, the connection between "galaxies" and "trains" is well known as a major literary and animated work. One is "Night on the Galactic Railroad," the posthumous work of novelist, poet Kenji Miyazawa, in which a lonely boy and his friend travel through space. The other is "The Galaxy Express 999," one of Japan's most famous manga and animated films by Leiji Matsumoto, about a boy's growth as he confronts a mechanical brain that has invaded the human world. Having been familiar with these stories since childhood, I feel a strong attachment to the connection between "galaxy" and "railroad". I have also been taking street snapshots of train stations of Madrid(especially, Atocha Station) for several years, which led to the creation of this series of works.

AUTHOR: Asako Naruto (Spain)

Born in Japan, Asako is a Madrid-based photographer specializing in street photography. After studying design at an art university in Tokyo, she pursued a specialization in art history at Nagoya University. She has been based in Madrid since 2005 for her Ph.D. research.

Her work has gained international recognition, winning the Grand Prix for two consecutive years at both the Paris International Street Photo Awards and the B&W International Awards, as well as 1st Place at the Fine Art Photography Awards. To date, she has received over 50 international photography awards.

In 2025, she was named Best Photographer of the Year in the Street Photography category at 35AWARDS and served as an international juror representing Spain.

In 2024, she was invited to exhibit at ART-ICON Paris, alongside work by David Lynch.
Her first monograph, All the Fading Words, will be published in 2025.