KITAJIMA KEIZO
ISOLATED PLACES
Published by Rat Hole Gallery, 2012
Hardcover
96 pages
25.8 x 22 cm
Signed by the Artist
After becoming known for his street photography taken both within and outside of Japan from the late 1970s until the early 1990s, in 1992, Keizo Kitajima embarked on two new bodies of work- his PORTRAITS series...and his PLACES series, featuring landscapes void of human figures. For his early works in his PLACES series, most photographs were taken in major cities around the world including Tokyo, London, New York, and Hong Kong. ...From the late 1990s, most of his works have been taken only in Japan, and in more recent years, in small villages and remote islands in the countryside of Japan. While the shift in his subject from urban to rural locations is at first glance a shift between polar opposites- global homogeneity vs. vernacular disparities- Kitajima is more so concerned with the idea of capturing “landscapes that have lost a name and face.” Such landscapes can be found all over Japan, but rarely do we notice them. They are “isolated places” that have forgotten their past and lost sight of their future.
- Rat Hole Gallery, Tokyo.
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After becoming known for his street photography taken inside and outside Japan from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Keizo Kitajima embarked on two new bodies of work in 1992: his PORTRAITS... series and his PLACES series, which feature landscapes devoid of human figures. For his early works in the PLACES series, most of the photographs were taken in major cities around the world, including Tokyo, London, New York, and Hong Kong. ...From the late 1990s onwards, most of his work has been taken exclusively in Japan, and more recently in small villages and isolated islands in the Japanese countryside. While the shift in his subject from urban to rural locations is at first glance a shift between polar opposites—global homogeneity versus vernacular disparities—Kitajima is more concerned with capturing "landscapes that have lost a name and a face." Such landscapes are found all over Japan, but they are rarely noticed. They are "isolated places" that have forgotten their past and lost sight of their future.
- Rat Hole Gallery, Tokyo.