If there's one country that Westerners tend to perceive only through clichés, it's undoubtedly Japan. Clichés that photographer Roberto Badin sought to shatter with Inside Japan, a unique work that takes us to the heart of Japanese cities, to help us grasp all the subtleties and contrasts of this country.
Why Japan? Because during his childhood in Brazil, young Roberto was immersed in cartoons from the Land of the Rising Sun: “Japan was like a distant planet. I dreamed of going there like one dreams of walking on Jupiter or Mars. My relationship with the Japanese people has always been very sensory. One of my first jobs as a photographer was commissioned by Kenzo Takada. Perhaps, without knowing it, it was decisive for the rest of my career.”
Forget the bustling, light-filled megacities that live at breakneck speed. The artist has chosen to focus on contemporary architecture, everyday life, and solitude, using structured and graphic compositions around deliberately isolated figures. It's a way of questioning the relationship between humankind and the environment. Published by Benjamin Blanck, this beautiful book contains several unique vignettes: a teenage girl enclosed in a frame of light, two yakuza figures at the heart of a sublime composition, a young woman both hidden and highlighted by her immaculate umbrella against a gray concrete backdrop. Each story overflows with beauty. A must-see.
Inside Japan by Roberto Badin
Benjamin Blanck Publishing
39,95 €
France paris
