Ayaka Yamamoto’s Portraits of Girls in Latvia and Estonia

Japanese photographer Ayaka Yamamoto‘s portraits play with the idea of identity; not so much with how one is created but rather how one is stripped away. In 2009, Yamamoto traveled to Estonia and Latvia in Northern Europe to capture these shots—lands that were far different from her own. She says the language barrier and unfamiliar culture enabled her to view her subjects as “new beings”, free of information and context built up over time. They are presented as mysterious and intriguing, almost in a state of transition—it’s hard to discern where they’ve been or where they’re headed.

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