ZEN FOTO GALLERY

Zen Foto Gallery is pleased to announce our third solo exhibition with Takehiko Nakafuji from September 14 to October 13. Followed by the exhibition “Night Crawler” in 2011 and “HOKKAIDO: Sakuan, Matapaan” in 2013, this exhibition focuses on Tokyo, the multifaceted metropolis “like an ever-transforming monster, an ameba that continued to deform and regenerate”, according to Nakafuji. The exhibition will show works in monochrome and colour by Nakafuji, all taken within the 7 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake happened in March 11, 2011. A photobook under the same title “White Noise” will also be published accompanying the exhibition.

When I saw the video footage showing how the nuclear plant in Fukushima exploded, I felt that something had come to an end. It reminded me of the sandstorm-like white noise in analogue televisions when there are no broadcasts. Tokyo was dark and somber because it was powering down to conserve electricity. People had gloomy faces and wore anti-radiation masks, as they wandered around as if afraid of something.

That was only the beginning of the end though. In this confused era with unseeable future, the monster of Tokyo did not stop its onward march. Life goes on and the conflict between the lively old streets and inhuman redevelopments continues, and Tokyo continues as a demon city of swirling energy, spinning out of control. What is more, under the fictitious banner of the “Tokyo 2020 Olympics” the city has further begun to wriggle. Nothing about this energy seems positive to me - everything is nihilistic chaos.

All the photographs in this book were taken after March 11, 2011. It is my greatest wish to present to readers this ongoing chaos in Tokyo, just as it is.

ーTakehiko Nakafuji