Yosuke Takeda, “Ash without fire here”
I visited Yosuke Takeda’s solo exhibition “Ash without fire here.” The venue was Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film.
Yosuke Takeda is a photographer whose credits include the cover of the international edition of Haruki Murakami’s landmark novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. This exhibition marks his third solo show at Taka Ishii Gallery, and his first there in three years.
The photographs Yosuke Takeda produces are strikingly unique and fresh.
As his signature “Digital Flare” series demonstrates, he uses a digital camera to capture light with an entirely distinctive approach.
Takeda’s photographs are premised on “errors” — by pairing the latest digital camera with an old lens, or by shooting into backlight, he deliberately invites a certain kind of “distortion” into the image. In other words, he consciously courts the optical accidents of flare and ghosting as part of his method.
Center: Yosuke Takeda, “071949,” 2019, LightJet print
Right: Yosuke Takeda, “044725,” 2019, LightJet print
Because his method depends on the chance errors he pursues, he reportedly clicks the shutter 2,000 to 3,000 times just to capture a single frame. It is a method impossible with a film camera.
For reference, the numbers in his titles apparently indicate the timestamps at which each image was finalized on his computer.
“072353” refers to 7:23:53 in the morning. Takeda seems to work most often from late night into the early morning.
A new work developed from “161234,” a 2013 piece he shot on a smartphone showing a water surface, also drew attention.
Since Takeda does almost no post-processing on the computer, the beauty of the water surface — with its embedded geometric patterns — leaves a strikingly lasting impression.
Right: Yosuke Takeda, “061629,” 2019, LightJet print
The video work depicts something glowing gold reflected on the blue of a water surface.
The runtime of the piece is said to be a reference to Andy Warhol’s famous line, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”
The gentle sway of the shimmering water surface was so soothing that I could keep watching the screen for a long time.
What was this radiant glimmer that had been captured…? ※If you ask the gallerist, they’ll happily tell you.
Takeda’s richly colored works shone beautifully against the white walls of the gallery.
