“RETROSPECTIVE ONE” TOKYO REPORT
December 15th, 2009 Posted in EXHIBITS, Retrospective One“Retrospective One” was my first solo exhibit held on foreign soil.
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| Ako and Mie, the owners of The Ghetto Tokyo |
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The first 48 hours of landing in Tokyo were expectantly insane. I had not slept in days and had to balance setting up the exhibit while figuring the logistics of CMWC business with no cell phone or regular internet connection. There is much I wanted to do that I did not have time to do, like shooting and documenting The Ghetto properly – I’m always inclined to shoot portraits of the people I meet more than the places I visit.
The opening night of my exhibit, I finally had a chance to chill out from the intensity of my arrival. I thought I could shoot the gallery space before the vernissage. However, it was not long before people were showing up and I was being introduced to all kinds of special guests… I got distracted from my “work” and only took these two shots of the gallery space. The photos here represent about 1/4 of the exhibit. |
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I chatted with old and new friends, Japanese, Korean, European, North American, Australian, tattooed, pieced, freaky, sexy, weird, wild, educated, cultured, curious, adventurous, intelligent, disturbing… a flurry of wonderful people and stories.
Throughout all this, I had a drink in one hand and my camera in the other. I am who I am, do what I do and I didn’t come to Tokyo to be tame or shy… one thing led to another and I started taking portraits of my guests à la chapter9. Katayamari, artist and double amputee, with my giant print of Lukas Zpira (circa 2001). |
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65-year old traditional sword maker, self-pierced.
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| Ryoichi Maeda, curator of the exhibit, giving a speech in my honor during the opening party while Ako spins some killer tracks one after another in the background. |
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About 10 hours went by from the moment guests started arriving to when we finally made it back home. I took a lot of photos, but was more concerned about enjoying the night than “working” at my own party. Just like what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, I will simply say thank you to all the eccentrics and bike messengers that were there for the opening night. I am grateful for the amazing times we had together and your contributions to my personal and professional adventures. For those of you that couldn’t make it, this report barely covers what happened that night, but is still a fun teaser. I hope you enjoyed my inside scoop. |
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Ako
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After a few months of organizing and nights of not sleeping, a well deserved feast with my Tokyo crew.
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Tags: Ako, badass dudes, exhibit, Katayamarie, Mar, Mie, perverts, Retrospective One, ryoichi maeda, The Ghetto, Tokyo, traditional sword maker
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