TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Drifted“)
© Kanako Sasaki, 2008

Inspired by astronomy, Drifted is a series that questions our whereabouts, our existence and the relationship between the moon and the Earth. If one was acquainted with her earlier works, especially Wanderlust, one could easily pinpoint the various sources of inspiration and recognize the dreamlike quality of her images.

A lone female character inhabits the series, surrounded by amazing scenery, playing out a narrative. Using a few images (and an installation), the photographer managed to invoke a sense of wonderment; of how things are so much more interesting out there in the world. It made my day and I hope it would make yours too.

Here’s an interview of the photographer by the beautiful people of Nymphoto. Also, do look at her other series, Wanderlust and Walking in the Jungle. It’s a series that would put a smile on your face. Visit her website for more.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“9#, Sk8 and Toy-kyo“)
© Joji Shinamoto

Street culture graces the portfolio of Japanese photographer, Joji Shimamoto, as he traverses between New York City and Tokyo. Born and raised in Japan, he has since relocated to the Big Apple as a freelance photographer. Recently featured in Japan’s Photographica magazine and studio voice, this young photographer’s future looks bright.

Visit his portfolio to see more. A collection is also available here.

TOP TO MIDDLE, from (“Tokyo Suburbia“)
© Takashi Homma, 1998

BOTTOM, from (“New Waves“)
© Takashi Homma, 2003

Takashi Homma captures the dark ominous side of Tokyo in the late nineties in his series ‘Tokyo Suburbia’. Japan was at the cusp of an economic doldrum, where an asset bubble caused many subsequent years of recession. It was this darkness that swallowed the dreams of many individuals, where the young grew up disconnected from society.

With a detached eye, Takashi recorded the suburban houses that residents left behind on weekends and the youths roaming the streets. The empty streets and houses become a reflection of the people it housed. The future of the nation posing with an air of nonchalance and defiance. More than a decade later, how has this changed?

More about the photographer here.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“?? (silent and loneliness) world“)
© Noriko Ishihara, 2009

Highly abstruse, the images’ visual references and palette create an ominous and fantastical feel to the entire series. Yet, beneath the abstract layers lie truths kept away from the world.

Rinko Kawauchi would be having an exhibition at Mountain Fold Gallery in New York for an entire month. The show, “Condensation”, is a collection of new and old works from the Japanese photographer. I’ve always been a fan of Kawauchi and would love to be there. An interesting aspect of the show would be to see how Kawauchi’s normally thematic images work together out of context and placed side by side. Her work possesses a melancholic peacefulness, soft and ethereal but always etched in reality. Do drop by if you’re in NYC.

Exhibition details:
Oct 19 – Nov 28
Mountain Fold Gallery
55 Fifth Avenue 18th Floor
New York, NY, 10003

TOP TO BOTTOM, “Approach Lights #3“, “On White #1“, “On the Margin”
© Tsukasa Yokozawa, 1999-2005

Tsukasa Yokozawa is a Japanese photographer living and working in New York. A selection of his works from various series are currently on exhibition at Motus Fort, a gallery in Tokyo.

Yokozawa on his works:

I place plural and independent things on the same plane parallel to each other. Even though at first sight they seem to be synchronized, they are in fact each individual and singular. I would like to affirm this unsynchronized nature of the world—for love is what remains unsynchronized.

While I think the prints would definitely be better than the images online, I found the artist statement to be pretentious and convoluted. The images are stunning and it takes a while to get what the artist is trying to say through his works. It’s feels like having the wool pulled over my eyes. I could be wrong and cranky (had a draining day in the office) and will reread the images in a clearer state of mind.

Anyway, visit his portfolio to take a better look at his works. Let me know what you think.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Lightning Fields“)
© Hiroshi Sugimoto, 2009

It’s a small wonder why Sugimoto-san is considered one of the greatest living photographers. He constantly pushes the limits of what photography can achieve and creates works that just leave one in complete awe.

Sugimoto-san approaches photography like a scientist, experimenting and testing out hypotheses. In his latest series, Lightning Fields, he discharged electrical impulses on photographic dry plates to recreate a slice of scientific history in the darkroom.

Visit his website to see more of the series but I believe these works have to be seen in the flash flesh for the full effect.

TOP TO BOTTOM, Burnt, Split Fence, Pond from (“entropix)
© Taisuke Koyama, 2008

At first glance, the images in his latest series, entropix, appear to be just bright images of shapes and colors, as if they were part of a psychedelic experiment. It is with repeated viewings that the images’ true beauty come to live. One sees how ordinary and overlooked objects in the city are transformed into powerful imagery, depicting the change and decay pervading through everything. It’s an excellent continuation of his 2007 series, Dark Matter.

I find this to be a wonderful presentation of how a photographer is able to say more with his/her work. Abstract images are always interesting to look at but they tend to be unable to withhold viewers’ attention for too long. Koyama has managed to not only create beautiful images but also inject depth into his work.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Dark Lake Series“)
© Shigeyoshi Ohi, 2003

Shigeyoshi Ohi describes the experience of standing at the edges of these lakes as an agitating process. Beneath the serene surfaces lie one of mother nature’s greatest force of destruction. Volcano craters fill up rapidly with water when the volcanoes become dormant, resulting in awe-inspiring landscapes. Once harbingers of death, these volcanoes become givers of life, nourishing the surroundings with rich deposits of minerals. However, time and space seem to merge into the dark void, of which Ohi translated into a beautiful body of work.

More of the series can be seen on his portfolio.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Tokyo 4-3-4-506 “)
© Chino Otsuka

Chino’s other series, Imagine Finding Me, reveals the aching need for some to revisit the past and perhaps whisper something into our younger selves.

Read more about Chino here. Her portfolio can be viewed here.