Eriko Koga’s photographs celebrate life and humanity in its many facets. Her first book Asakusa Zenzai (2011) is a collection of photos that testify to the unwavering joy of life in an elderly couple living in downtown Tokyo, despite their failing health. The series Issan (2015) juxtaposes the sacred with the everyday, and uncovers the hidden, human underside of one of the holiest places in Japan. In Tryadhvan (2016), she turns the lens on pregnant self in a stunning exploration of the interconnectedness of life and death; the past, present and future. Of her motivations, Koga states “In the end, people come before photos for me. My heart yearns to be genuine in my humanity. Perhaps that heart also leads me to certain places and certain people in the hope of filling in what is lacking inside myself. When what I truly seek is before me, I am able to engage my subject with much more breadth and depth.”