Tokyo Photographic Art Museum And Hiroshi Sugimoto

Today I went to the impressive, recently renovated Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. Sadly the Museum closed for a 2 year renovation not long after I moved here. Thankfully it has reopened this week and if you ever get to Tokyo you should make it a priority to visit this space.

The key opening exhibit is three collections from Hiroshi Sugimoto. Really breathtaking stuff. His Lost Human Genetic Archive is something that transcends “photography.” It’s an installation. It’s pop art. It’s a crazy, comedic gesture at the decline of human civilisation. And, it’s nothing short of brilliant. His other exhibits currently on show, Abandoned Theater (new work in the Theaters series) and Sea of Buddhas are also extraordinary! Sugimoto’s medium is photography, but his work is contemplation of space, time, history, culture and religion.

For a long time I’ve struggled with what I’m doing with photography. Am I trying to make good photos? Am I trying to make art. Am I trying to combine photography with something else? Today I felt like Sugimoto san was whispering in my ear, “your questions are bullshit. Just go and amplify the temporal strata!”

Now, if only I knew what the temporal strata was…