tokyo!
Howdy, it's been a while since I last wrote. I wish I could say I was busy with work (I never am) but what has rather occupied my free time these past few weeks was creating a detailed itinerary for my Tokyo trip on November. Yes, my priorities are all twisted but I'll do anything for a rush of dopamine these days. The nights I used to spend writing and tinkering with this blog have been spent piecing together a week-long itinerary puzzle, with Tokyo travelogs playing in the background. Creating a Japan itinerary is one of my greatest pleasures in life, and I would monetize it in a heartbeat if I knew the best way to do it.
But enough about the trip. I finally found time to visit the Tokyo Before / After exhibition at Estancia Mall, which runs until July 31. It features photographs by Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama, Mika Ninagawa, Shinya Arimoto, Natsumi Hayashi and more.
If you're a fan of film photography and the physicality of the printing process, you're in for a real treat. Seeing silver gelatin prints by Araki and C-prints by Mika Ninagawa up close is indescribable. I highly recommend experiencing it for yourself.
The exhibit also introduced me to Shintaro Sato, whose panoramic shots of Tokyo in his series Risen in The East were nothing short of spectacular. Unfortunately his panoramas were prohibited from picture-taking, so I couldn't share them here. One particularly striking photo was of a hanami, wherein cherry blossom trees create a vivid pink canopy over a crowded park. I could stare at it for hours. No wonder his works had a no-photos-allowed sign – a phone or computer screen won't do them justice.
A quick turn finds you invading the personal space of random strangers, all thanks to Shinya Arimoto's street photography. While I've always held street photography in high regard despite its controversial nature, I do believe that not all street photographers are the same and some deserve getting their teeth knocked out. Shinya Arimoto belongs to the blessed few whose street work passes my imaginary criteria. Street photography is here to stay, and sadly no amount of crybabies on Reddit or Instagram can do anything about it.
The exhibit ends with Natsumi Hayashi's whimsical levitating self-portraits, which gained popularity through daily posting from her blog (take notes, everyone). I've always admired the Cindy Sherman types, and the physicality of Natsumi Hayashi's self-portraits add another layer of inspiration. Such photos make you gape in awe and wonder how the fuck does she do it?
Needless to say, seeing Natsumi Hayashi's work in person made me get up off my ass and think of a personal photography project. I was reminded of this interview with Patrick Tsai of Talking Barnacles fame:
Make sure to visit Tokyo Before / After before it gets shipped to the next country!
While the post title is as generic as can be, I'm actually referencing this anthology film that I'm long overdue for a rewatch.