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Lot Essay
In and Out of Focus — Japanese Contemporary Photographic Art
From the post-war documentary of the 1960s to the contemporary expression of the quotidian living, the transition of Japanese photography is a journey that characterises the balance of strength and tenderness as well as the coexistence of the tangible and the intangible in the cultural aesthetic of Japan. The indescribable emotions, audacious imageries, and the artist’s concern for humanity are shown in every photograph. Lot 215 - 219 showcase the sensibility to light and shadow, as well as time and memory of Japanese contemporary photographic artists.
Mika Ninagawa and Nobuyoshi Araki both focus on the beauty of the ephemeral and the impermanence of being. Mika Ninagawa’s Noir (Lot 215) uses high saturation colours and cinematic settings to express the fleeting nature of life. The city, flowers, and women in kimono are all classic propositions in Nobuyoshi Araki’s works. His work Suicide in Tokyo (Lot 216) confronts the viewers with imageries of sex and death. Naoki Honjō employs the 4:5 large format camera to evoke a sense of nostalgia and three-dimensionality in Tokyo-Station, Japan (Lot 217). Like a diorama, it shows the throbbing pulse of the city in a concentrated dosage. Risaku Suzuki and Yosuke Takeda are both adept in capturing the splendour in nature. In Risaku Suzuki’s 07,4-69 (Lot 218), Yoshino cherry in front of the wistful skies reveals the guileless beauty of the ancient city of Kumano. Rays of sunlight shower through the tree branches in Yosuke Takeda’s 074418 (Lot 219). The interplay between light and shadow presents the ethereal quality of the universe. Akin to an abstract painting, the artist explores the possibility in photography through his imaginative sense of colours and expressive execution.
From the post-war documentary of the 1960s to the contemporary expression of the quotidian living, the transition of Japanese photography is a journey that characterises the balance of strength and tenderness as well as the coexistence of the tangible and the intangible in the cultural aesthetic of Japan. The indescribable emotions, audacious imageries, and the artist’s concern for humanity are shown in every photograph. Lot 215 - 219 showcase the sensibility to light and shadow, as well as time and memory of Japanese contemporary photographic artists.
Mika Ninagawa and Nobuyoshi Araki both focus on the beauty of the ephemeral and the impermanence of being. Mika Ninagawa’s Noir (Lot 215) uses high saturation colours and cinematic settings to express the fleeting nature of life. The city, flowers, and women in kimono are all classic propositions in Nobuyoshi Araki’s works. His work Suicide in Tokyo (Lot 216) confronts the viewers with imageries of sex and death. Naoki Honjō employs the 4:5 large format camera to evoke a sense of nostalgia and three-dimensionality in Tokyo-Station, Japan (Lot 217). Like a diorama, it shows the throbbing pulse of the city in a concentrated dosage. Risaku Suzuki and Yosuke Takeda are both adept in capturing the splendour in nature. In Risaku Suzuki’s 07,4-69 (Lot 218), Yoshino cherry in front of the wistful skies reveals the guileless beauty of the ancient city of Kumano. Rays of sunlight shower through the tree branches in Yosuke Takeda’s 074418 (Lot 219). The interplay between light and shadow presents the ethereal quality of the universe. Akin to an abstract painting, the artist explores the possibility in photography through his imaginative sense of colours and expressive execution.