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

Artist Profile

Takehiko NAKAFUJI

Born in 1970, Tokyo, Takehiko Nakafuji dropped out from Waseda University, School of Humanities and Social Sciences and graduated from the Photography Department of Tokyo Visual Arts College. He continues to publish his works of street photography, mainly in monochrome, and travels in and out of Japan for photo coverage jobs, including countries in Eastern Europe, Russia and Cuba. While Nakafuji is active as a photographer, he is also the owner of Gallery Niepce in Yotsuya, Tokyo. He has won the 29th Higashikawa Special Photographer Award for his series ‘Sakuan Matapaan - Hokkaido’ in 2013, and the 24th Hayashi Tadahiko Award for his series ‘STREET RAMBLER’ in 2015. His works are included in the collection of Kiyosato Photo Art Museum, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and Shunan City Museum of Art and History.

Publications & Prints