Toshio Ishido
Created in Illusion, Destroyed in Ephemerality
‘Mugen Hoyo (Dreams, Phantoms, Bubbles, and Shadows) is a Buddhist term for impermanence.’ To create this image, the photographer applied dental chemicals to a Tokyo nightscape photograph, dissolving the ink to visualise decay. In this way, tools of creation were used to manifest destruction, highlighting the ambiguity of human endeavour and civilisation’s duality.
© Toshio Ishido, Japan, Shortlist, Open Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
