Untold Signs

• Photographer
  Asako Naruto

I am drawn to the paradox of finding traces of absence within what is visibly present. For me, photography is a way of evoking stories that linger beyond the frame, revealing the “presence of absence” through light and shadow. In this seris, Atocha Station becomes a stage. Light from its skylights falls like spotlights, and with highlight-weighted metering I isolate what it touches: a stranger’s shoes, an arm, a strand of hair, the tilt of a posture. The rest dissolves into shadow.Fragments of a strangers’ stage—figures vanish, shadows whisper, and light leaves untold signs of the city.

Asako Naruto is a Japanese photographer based in Madrid, trained in design at Musashino Art University and art history at Nagoya University. Her work explores traces of absence and untold urban stories, including a Madrid train-station series and playful work using prisms and split diopters. Since 2022 she has won consecutive Grand Prix awards, including the Paris International Street Photo Awards and B&W International Awards, plus recognition from All About Photo Awards 2026, juried by Steve McCurry. Her first photobook, All the Fading Words, was published by Snap Collective, Denmark, 2025.