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Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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Seen: Tokyo Lonely Heart Land
Who: Takahiro Mizushima / website
Where: Totem Pole Photo Gallery, Shinjuku
When: February 2 - 14, 2016 / Open 12:00-19:00 / (Closed Mondays)
Mizushima is a young photographer and a member of Totem Pole since last year. I first met him at his second show at tppg back in 2012- and have yet to see him without his Contax T3. His little camera in hand, he keeps snapping away at his life and people around him with the T3′s unique signature look, a combination a super-center-sharp yet vignetting lens and hot flash, works well with his choice subject matter- places that exist in the shadows (figuratively and literally) and night.
Tokyo Lonely Heart Land is a good companion to Minami Sakamoto’s pictures- both photographers run in a similar kind of youthful circle in Tokyo. Mizushima’s pictures however, have a severely more darker pull to them- many pictured seem to suffer from circumstances related from a rejection of mainstream society- or perhaps an inability to adapt to it. Indeed, Mizushima’s lens is often pointed at situations that most would be unable to find courage (or need) to press the shutter button for.
While he shoots on 35mm film, the prints for this show are inkjets pinned directly to the wall. This exhibition method matches the energy of the content- but I feel that the lack of delicacy in tones and sharpness that digital prints inevitably possess works as a slight detriment to the overall show itself. Indeed, several images are explicitly about the quality of light- and while film is best for the original capture, when viewing up close, such nuances are lost in digital transition to paper.
Mizushima’s (often nsfw) work can be seen on his website here. Navigate between the different galleries by clicking on the bottom three boxes. ( Sound of Future / Wonderer Butterfly / Tokyo Lonely Heart Land )
