Hello, all!
I am grateful you are reading my newsletter today. Here in Tokyo, we are still in the rainy season, which means less time on my bicycle and more time walking from place to place, closely observing my neighborhood. It also means being inside more, pushing forward on various projects. And along those lines, I have some news that I am excited to share:
My photography will be appearing as a feature in VoidTokyo Vol. 7.
If you follow contemporary Japanese photography, you likely already know about VoidTokyo. It’s a collective of some of Tokyo’s best street photographers. Besides putting on shows in Tokyo and around the world, once or twice year they publish a zine of their latest work, sometimes including a small number of invited guests. Here’s the cover of the newest issue, with my name on it!
Sure, it says “zine”, but this publication has almost 200 pages of photography, produced in gorgeous offset printing. If you ask me, it’s a book—a book that captures what Tokyo is like at the current moment, as seen from 14 different perspectives. It is at times sad, dark, frightening, humorous, joyful, peaceful. Much of the work pushes the notion of “street photography” in new directions. I’m thrilled to be included.
I spent a lot of time working out my contribution, playing with and rejecting ideas. The feature I ultimately put together is mainly comprised of photos from two recent series of mine, The Consolation of Dew and Old River. Though they are separate bodies of work, looking at them together I found continuities and contrasts, and that pairing certain photos from each of them created new meaning. These are photos I love, and I hope you will too.
VoidTokyo Vol.7 will be released in mid-July, but it’s available for pre-order now. It’s 2500 JPY, or 23 USD, plus shipping. If you’re interested, I suggest moving quickly—past issues have sold out, and I think this one will as well. You can order it online here:
Click here to purchase VoidTokyo vol.7
If you have any troubles ordering, let me know.
This brings me to my second, related, piece of news.
Next month, VoidTokyo will be holding an exhibition to commemorate the publication of Vol. 7. They will be joined by two other local street photography groups, and it’s going to be quite a show. Here are all the details:
Tokyo Street Photography Summer 2021.
July 20-25, 2021, 13:00 to 19:00 (July 25 until 18:00)
Clouds Gallery + Coffee, 2-25-4 Koenjikita, Suginami-ku, Tokyo
The photographs I am planning to show will be different from those in the zine. They will be a first look at some new work in progress that has not been seen on social media or elsewhere. I’m not going to say more right now, because I don’t want to spoil the surprise for those who can make it. But needless to say, I am enjoying the process of selecting paper and making gallery quality prints. A good way to spend some rainy afternoons, for sure.
It’s been a real pleasure working with VoidTokyo on both the zine and the exhibition. Though I’m participating as a guest, I’ve felt like an equal, with my opinion being asked for and on matters big and small.
Working as a group and seeking consensus does take time: design meetings have often ran well into the late hours of the morning. But it also has the potential to achieve something special. I hope you’ll see that in the zine and in the exhibition.
I’ll have more to say about all this, along with some photos from the exhibition, next month. By that time, the weather in Tokyo will be hot and the sun at its brightest. Until then, take care.
Joel