GLOBAL PRO GALLERY
Takehiko Nakafuji
Takehiko NakafujiJapan
Born in 1970 in Tokyo.
Withdrew from studies at Waseda University’s School of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Graduated from the Photography Department at Tokyo Visual Arts Academy.
Active as an artist while running Gallery Niepce in Yotsuya Sanchome, Tokyo.
Continues to release works focused on snapshots of urban areas.
Photographs throughout Japan and also abroad, including Eastern Europe, Russia, Cuba, China, Hong Kong, Paris, and New York.
Has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Japan and overseas.
Recipient of the 29th Higashikawa Special Photographer Award and the 24th Tadahiko Hayashi Award.
I am interested in the big cities in the United States.
I have started touring them, bit by bit. I have previously photographed New York and Chicago, and on this trip, I visited San Francisco and Los Angeles, two major cities on the West Coast.
I grew up on rock music, so I feel a certain respect for these cities as the birthplace of American rock and the hippy culture of the 1960s.
Of course, more than 50 years have passed since that era, and I am fully aware that things are no longer the same.
However, as a starting point, I wanted to take portraits of people and pictures of fragments of the city, focusing on the theme of 1960s culture.
Amidst the turmoil the US currently faces, I sensed the presence of a valuable spirit, though I know that might just be nostalgia.
As I wandered through the streets, I discovered remnants of that era everywhere.
The graffiti-covered street corners, the tattoos, and the skateboard culture all give you a sense of the freedom and rebelliousness of the city.
More than anything, I was drawn to the strong presence and individuality of the people.
The United States is a vast country that cannot be summed up simply, and each city has its own unique personality. I’d like to develop this project into a series of comparative urban studies.
