Seen:Sentimental Journey—The Complete Contact Sheets センチメンタルな旅 - コンプリート・コンタクトシート
Who: Nobuyoshi Araki
Where: IMA Concept Store, Roppongi
When: May 25 - July 9, 2016
Opening concurrently with, and a mere 10 meters from, Taka Ishii’s Photo-Mad Old Man A, 76th Birthday / 「写狂老人A 76齢 in the AXIS building complex, Sentimental Journey- The Complete Contact Sheets is a unique look at Araki’s “I-Photo” genre-establishing photobook. All 18 contact sheets from Araki’s honeymoon trip are on display- each mounted in a frame and hung along the walls of the gallery- All 653 frames are, due to their enlarged size, presented for comfortable viewing.
To approach Araki’s (or anyone’s) contact sheets simply trying to figure out how to pick “good shots” would be the most shallow, base entry to experiencing this work. It shouldn’t work that way- these pictures deserve better, as well. The fact is this: We get to see all that there is to see- every moment which something connected with his eye and heart and shutter- the point isn’t to pick and choose- there’s no definite right way. But, there’s his way. Seeing all the frames is a step back for a better view- what’s incredible is how with three or nine or 70 or all 653 images essence of the feeling of the work remains. I think that this hum that Sentimental Journey gives out- something that reverberates within the viewer, is a testament and even reason to it’s never-ending popularity.
A folio of these contact sheets- produced in a very limited edition of 10- is available. The other way to see each contact sheet (reproduced very close to their original size) is to pick up the February 2015 issue of SWITCH magazine.
Despite the fact that IMA Concept Store’s cafe/bookshop has been closed for over a year now, for this show a special display of Araki photobooks is on display- on a large table sits many of his books- most are for sale but all are there to be seen and experienced in person. I highly suggest taking hope a copy of the 2016 reprint of Sentimental Journey, as well.