A religious procession float with Chinese characters glides through Jalan Pudu road in Kuala Lumpur at night with one man in the foreground and two men on the float.

We work with words, images, and sound to tell human stories.

Ågren Maekawa is the joint project of Daniel Ågren and Ikumi Maekawa. Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, we tell human stories using words, images, and sound.

Re:connect/ion,a human journey is our first collaborative work in photopoetry, a medium where photography and poetry create space for viewers to build their own meaning from the interplay of the two art forms.

In 2026, we received funding from Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation (SJSF Sverige) to embark on a research trip to explore the punk scene in Kōenji, a district in Tokyo known for its high concentration of artists and musicians especially in the alternative and underground communities. Read more here: Kōenji Punk.

Equipment

Camera. Canon EOS R6 Mark II

Lenses. Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS, Canon RF 50mm F1.8

Collaborators

Daniel Ågren is a journalist and photographer who has been published in Swedish news outlets Dagens Nyheter (‘Daily news’), Göteborgs Posten (‘Gothenburg Post’), Sveriges Radio (‘Sweden’s Radio’), and SVT (‘Sweden’s Televison’). He is well-versed as a reporter and broadcaster, especially in radio journalism. He has worked with Sveriges Radio's major news programs, such as Ekot, Kaliber, P1-Morgon, and Studio Ett. See list of publications here.

Ikumi Maekawa writes about identity, culture, and human relationships from the unique perspective of someone who simultaneously belongs everywhere and nowhere, having spent much of her life moving countries. Originally from Tokyo, she has called five countries home, and works in the fields of sustainability and learning.