Accompanying a major exhibition at the International Center of Photography, Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan explores the inventive imagery and unconventional sensibilities that characterize recent photobased art in Japan. Heavy Light features works by 13 Japanese artists, all of them currently living in Japan. The participating artists are Makoto Aida, Naoya Hatakeyama, Naoki Kajitani, Hiroh Kikai, Midori Komatsubara, Yukio Nakagawa, Asako Narahashi, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Tomoko Sawada, Risaku Suzuki, Miwa Yanagi, Kenji Yanobe, and Masayuki Yoshinaga.
Heavy Light concentrates on four major themes that have come to preoccupy Japanese artists working with photography and video. These are the reshaping of Japanese tradition; the relation of nature to the manmade world; costume and the search for personal identity; and the child as cultural icon. The publication also features extended interviews with the exhibition artists. These interviews offer detailed accounts of their working methods, and illuminate the ways in which Japanese artists view their society and culture today. Through a selection of distinctive works by a diverse group of Japanese artists, Heavy Light provides fresh insights into one of Asia’s most visually provocative cultures.
