The 37th Daido Moriyama Exhibition: 'Hokkaido' (Part 1)
Rathole Gallery
The 37th Daido Moriyama Exhibition: 'Hokkaido' (Part 1)
Rathole Gallery is hosting the Daido Moriyama exhibition 'Hokkaido' until Sunday, February 8, 2009.
This collection of works, comprising approximately 70 previously unreleased pieces, centers on photographs taken exactly 30 years ago, in 1978. At that time, Moriyama felt a kind of physical detachment from his daily life, increasingly yearning to escape to 'somewhere else.' He decided to travel to Hokkaido, rented an apartment in Sapporo for three months, and traveled throughout the prefecture, taking photographs. However, the vast number of negatives from that period remained largely unprinted, lying dormant. This exhibition marks the rediscovery of those negatives, accompanied by the publication of the photo book 'Hokkaido,' which exceeds 660 pages.
At the opening of the exhibition, we had the opportunity to hear directly from Moriyama himself about his thoughts at the time and the significance of releasing these works now. In 'Rathole,' we will present the content of these conversations, which took place over four installments, involving the Openers editorial team. (Nobuhiko Kitamura)
Nobuhiko Kitamura / HYSTERIC GLAMOURPhoto by Jamandfixedit by TAKEUCHI Toranosuke(City Writes)
The Phantom 'Hokkaido,' Dormant in Cardboard for 30 Years
Nobuhiko KitamuraMost of these works were taken 30 years ago, weren't they?
Daido MoriyamaYes, in 1978. I rented an apartment in Sapporo for three months, in May, June, and July, and took photos.
KitamuraAt that time, did you not intend to publish them in a photo book or exhibition right away?
MoriyamaNo. There was absolutely no such premise. However, 'Asahi Camera' provided me with an apartment as an allowance for the assignment, so I published three installments. After that, however, the process of printing even stopped abruptly, and the negatives remained dormant in cardboard boxes.
If I hadn't done it then, I might never have done it.
In 'Dog's Memory: Final Chapter,' serialized in 'Asahi Graph' in 1998 and later published as a book, you wrote that you still couldn't adequately explain these photographs to yourself to make them into a book. Can we interpret the current exhibition and photo book release as having provided that explanation?
MoriyamaActually, about 10 years ago, there was a proposal to make it into a book. So, if I had printed them then, it would have become a book. But honestly, I felt I wanted to leave them untouched for a little longer. Not in the sense of letting them mature. I went to Hokkaido 30 years ago with a profound sense of loneliness, so I didn't feel like looking back at the negatives. There wasn't a specific reason, but there was some strange hesitation, and time just passed.
The decision to finally proceed came after my previous exhibition ('it') at this gallery. Shortly after, Mr. Osamu Wataya approached me, saying, 'A lot of time has passed, wouldn't it be time to do 'Hokkaido' now?' I felt that if I didn't do it now, I never would, so I made up my mind. In that sense, I feel I was approached at a very opportune moment.
KitamuraAfter reprinting the negatives from 30 years ago, how did you feel?
MoriyamaOf course, looking at them brought back the state and feelings of that time, so I felt a certain nostalgia. But I had largely forgotten the actual subjects captured in the negatives after 30 years. Therefore, I was able to view my photographs as if I were seeing a completely new world. As I followed the vast contact sheets with my eyes, I saw a stranger version of myself, and unfamiliar streets. It was a strange sensation, like looking at something entirely different.
Daido Moriyama Exhibition 'Hokkaido'
On view until Sunday, February 8, 2009
Rathole Gallery
12:00-20:00 (Closed Mondays)
RAT HOLE GALLERY & BOOKS
5-5-3-B1 Minamiaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-6419-3581
http://www.ratholegallery.com