Dear friends,
This summer, I am reading Ken Liu’s new translation of Laozi’s Dao De Jing. I am finding it a welcome antidote to contemporary pressures, and it has been helping me to think more clearly about my own work.
Today, I have two things to share.
First, the third book in my ongoing “Home” series is now available. This one, titled Mailboxes, contains photographs of all 27 mailboxes in my Tokyo neighborhood.
I’ve written in past newsletters, #28, #30, and #31, about the methods and goals of this series. Here, I’ll just say that Mailboxes is my favorite so far. It builds upon the network of visual connections that began with the previous books, and also is, I think, a lovely standalone volume.
In Tokyo, mailboxes are everywhere—at least for now. (Some receive only a few items each month, and so the number of boxes maintained by the Japan Post is shrinking.) Often, they are found in busier areas; Mailboxes thus showcases those parts of my neighborhood. And altogether, the photos happily suggest that life, here where I live, is not yet entirely digital.
I hope that Mailboxes will appeal to anyone with an interest in Tokyo, its daily rhythms and its infrastructure.
Mailboxes is printed in Tokyo on Japan-made paper, like the previous books in the series. This one comes enclosed in a red box, the same color as its titular subject matter. And as with the others, it is published as a limited edition of 100 signed copies. If you would like one, please email me. Mailboxes costs 25 USD (2500 JPY in Japan) and that includes worldwide shipping. Your purchases make the next book in the series possible.
My second, related piece of news: I am presenting a selection of photos from Mailboxes as part of the group exhibition “Dialogues,” at Gallery Blank in Koenji. The exhibition runs from August 27 until September 1, and the gallery is open from 1pm until 7pm on those days (until 5pm on the last day). If you’re in the neighborhood, I’d love to see you there.
Thank you for your support! Today’s newsletter contains announcements about my own work, but I also frequently write about other photographers. If you’ve recently subscribed, you may be interested in my recent reviews of books by Yasuhiro Ishimoto and by Ikko Narahara.
I close with a few pictures from Mailboxes.
