New Photobook Also Released

Kitajima, who gained recognition for his street snaps in cities worldwide from the late 1970s to the early 1990s and won the Kimura Ihei Award in 1981 for "NEW YORK," continues to be active both domestically and internationally. In 1992, he launched two new series: "PORTRAITS," a continuous project photographing people in white shirts, and "PLACES," which captures uninhabited landscapes. He has been developing these concurrently.

In the early "PLACES" series, Kitajima focused on major global cities like Tokyo, London, New York, and Hong Kong, revealing urban landscapes that seemed common to all, suggesting an attempt to capture cities as spectacles of globalization. However, from the late 1990s onwards, his work increasingly featured photographs taken in Japanese cities. In recent years, his subjects have expanded to include rural villages and remote islands, places seemingly at odds with the urban environment.



This exhibition, "ISOLATED PLACES," marks Kitajima's second show at RAT HOLE GALLERY since his "PORTRAITS" exhibition in 2009. It features 24 landscape photographs taken across Japan between 1992 and 2012. Kitajima commented, "These are landscapes found anywhere in Japan today, yet we rarely notice them. They can be called 'ISOLATED PLACES' that have forgotten their past and lost their way." The displayed photographs capture "landscapes that have lost their faces and names."

Additionally, coinciding with the exhibition, RAT HOLE GALLERY will release a photobook titled "ISOLATED PLACES," featuring 87 works including those on display. It will be available from the opening day, April 6th.

These are landscapes that feel familiar, yet perhaps not, their impassive expressions failing to capture our attention. Yet, these scenes undeniably existed. We invite you to step into the photographic world Kitajima crafts from such landscapes.

Keizo Kitajima Exhibition "ISOLATED PLACES"
Dates: Friday, April 6th – Sunday, May 13th
Closed: Mondays
Hours: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Venue: RAT HOLE GALLERY
5-5-3 Minami-Aoyama B1, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-6419-3581

Keizo Kitajima Photobook "ISOLATED PLACES"
Size: A4 variant, 96 pages
Release Date: Friday, April 6th
Publisher: RAT HOLE GALLERY