‘Impossible’ Interview with Jun Akaike – Head Of Impossible’s Japanese Operations
As you know we’re working closer and closer with the team at the Impossible Project as we continue to branch out and expand our reach with all things related to mobile photography. Analog post-processing of mobile images is becoming more and more popular and we’re going to make sure our readers are fully briefed on this very exciting development.
Today we are publishing the third of a series of articles and interviews related to the Impossible Project, ones that we feel you will really enjoy. If you have missed our others, please go here.
This article features Jun Akaike, Jun has been the head of Impossible’s Japanese operations since December, 2010, when he launched the Tokyo Project Space and began selling Impossible film and cameras to wholesalers and retailers across Japan. He has also driven sales into China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and south-east Asia.
This is an interview that was conducted by the team at Impossible and they have given us kind permission to republish it here. We think you will enjoy this very much…
Jun Akaike
What attracted you to Impossible?
In general, people in Japan love analog. This is more and more the case as the world moves forward and becomes even more digital. Personally, I love the experimental nature of Impossible film – although maybe not the very first ones! [laughs]
Is analogue instant photography popular in Japan?
Polaroid is very popular as a format. Even my mother knows Polaroid. Everyone seems to understand that Polaroid is the name of the film. However, after a lot of promotion and exhibitions in Japan, a younger generation of Japanese have discovered instant photography because of Impossible. Recently there’ve been a lot of magazines and TV shows featuring instant photography. This has also drawn attention to Impossible.
What do the Japanese like about Impossible?
A lot of local fashion brands use instant film for their new collections’ look books and magazines use instant photography as a visual reference in their editorials. The most recent of these visuals have been created on Instant Labs with Impossible film. With the launch of the smart phone and the rise of Instagram as a social medium, photography in this format is even more central to their lives. But I still want to get more real films, in the original format, into their hands.
Given the Japanese enthusiasm for novelty, have the new Special Edition films been well-received there?
People really like the new editions we’ve created recently. It’s hard to specify a favourite – I hear different opinions – but overall, customers are most into the Colour 600 and SX-70 colour frames editions.
What is Japan’s favorite instant camera?
The favourite by far is the classic SX-70. Japan has a long history of loving the SX-70 and it’s still a favourite ‘accessory’ for influencers and fashion taste-makers.
The Tokyo Project Space has exhibited some very well known Japanese photographers – Araki, Moriyama, Mika Ninagawa – but who are your favourite, less known instant photographers?
Eiki Mori – he won the Kimura Ibei prize, one of Japan’s most important – and Yoshiyuki Okuyama. They’re both very young and both experiment with the impossible films.
The company has undergone some significant changes in the past year. How has this affected Impossible in Japan?
The only visible effect of it on the market in Japan has been the improved quality of the films. Those who used Impossible’s films in the early days and gave up on them have been coming back. That’s because that we are now able to offer much better performance and durability as well as more reliable hardware. I have to say I also love the new package designs of our film. I really like what I’m seeing from the new creative HQ in Berlin – especially the films (and camera!) that haven’t been released yet.
What are your hopes for the company in the year ahead?
My hope is that people finally understand that the films Impossible is producing are the most exciting and valuable materials for the future of analog photography. I want them to understand and enjoy the behavior of our films and learn how best to use them, whether it’s to create art or preserve their personal memories. I want our company to produce a continuous flow of new instant film. And I should probably add that people in Japan are anxiously anticipating the new cameras that Impossible will produce.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
