The Flâneur

New chapter in collection of words formerly known as "Dreaming with One Eye Open"

Hello Dreamers! It’s been a while. It’s been almost (more?) a year since you last saw words from me on your screen delivered through the magical invention of 1965 — email.

If you do not remember (rightfully so) why you are getting this email — I’m Toto — a lost man wandering the streets of Tokyo and Tbilisi with a camera and making books. And this is a newsletter formerly known as Dreaming with One Eye Open.

A lot has happened in the past year. I didn’t share much with you because I couldn’t adhere to the massive format I committed to this newsletter more than 365 days ago. I’m here to fill you in and tell you about changes and “reboot” of this mailing list.

My love of book-making has not gone anywhere. I produced three more Out of Memory one-offs, made a proper website for myself, participated in a group photo exhibition called “Perspectives” in Gallery Ether, and organized a solo street exhibition—Walk With Me—in street lamps(!) of Jingumae 2-chōme just outside of crowded streets of Harajuku. I was also lucky to present a photo collage at the fortnightly art event THE LINE in exquisitely lit up bar Véronique, just one floor below Daido Moriayma’s publisher.

I couldn’t be happier with things happening in 2022. However, with all this work (in addition to my day job), my photography time had a price to pay — the currency of the payment is time. I have a new challenge—figuring out how to be active in the art and photography scene and have time to keep producing.

Hence, the new format and “rebranding” of this newsletter.

I mentioned Out of Memory and my daily journal in the second dispatch. The latter will have 1373 entries today afternoon. It seems like I’m good at sticking to a journaling format. So that’s what I’ll be doing here too —

Welcome to The Flâneur, a work journal of a walker with a camera; A work log, a place to explore ideas, share observations, and write the process of artifact-making.

To give you a tiny bit of taste of what’s coming up:

• I’m working on two limited edition zines and a big book,
• I bought a new camera (that I didn’t return) for the first time in five years,
• I’m preparing an experimental show with a talented friend of mine, and
• I put vaseline on a lens filter.

Thanks for following along!

Flâneur (/flæˈnjʊər/; French: [flɑˈnœʁ]) is a French noun referring to a person, literally meaning “stroller”, “lounger”, “saunterer”, or “loafer”, but with some nuanced additional meanings.

— T