JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE 1970s TO THE PRESENT

The first photographic image may have been snapped by a Parisian in 1814, and the first company to mass-produce a clunky, hand-held box might’ve been American (Kodak). But since its modernisation in the late 1800s, Japan has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with technology and its ability to improve and capture everyday moments. Enter the Canons and Nikons, who revolutionised family portraits, news reportage, archival records and the arts. The cliché of the Japanese tourist ever-clutching a camera is not too far off the truth; if you have travelled in Japan you will know any auspicious moment needs immediate memorialisation, whether hastily snapped using a phone camera, digital hand-held or slick SLR. Gazing at the Contemporary World: Japanese Photography From the 1970s to the Present gathers together 76 shots from 23 world-famous photographers, including Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama and Shomei Tomatsu, in a unique look at the art of observing. From tattered post-War remnants to a burgeoning economy, the burst of the bubble and finding its feet afterwards, these photos capture a nation in constant change.

Feb 22-Mar 4, Japan Foundation Gallery, Level 1, Chifely Plaza, jpf.org.au