Hiroyasu NAKAI

Record Vol. 27

Inner-North

“En hommage à sa via de photographe et à sa mort Février 17 2016 ”

“A Tribute to his life as photographer, and a deep remembrance of his death, February 17 2016”

Curated by Sadreddine Arezki & 店長 (Mr. Tencho)
Organisé par: in)(between. gallery
Communication et relations presse :
press @ inbetweengallery.com

Du 26 janvier au 25 février 2017

Vernissage : le 26 Janvier du 18h30

in)(between record vol. 27

Hiroyasu NAKAI 中居裕恭, “VAGABOND PHOTOGRAPHER”, born in 1955 in Hachinohe (Tohoku region) Aomori prefecture referred as the most Northeast-Japan point, remote costal lands, was no stranger in Japan’s photo world … an ex CAMP member and co-manager of Place M with Daido MORIYAMA, Masato SETO and Nobuhiko ONO; sadly passed away on Feb-17-2016 in Tokyo just after he and Daido MORIYAMA started to organized their exhibition @ The SHUJI TERAYAMA MUSEUM in Aomori (北斗の街―遡上の光景 – Hokuto no machi “Sojou no Koukei – Sight on the run-up – town of the North Star).

Very likely NAKAI-san was destined to revolt against the establishment and become a photographer and folklorist, the revolt started in the 70’s by dropping out from the Hachinohe industrial engineering high school, after so; somehow like some other renowned Japanese photographers of today, he ended up studying photography under Eiko HOSOE, actually from 1974 to 1976 he worked and studied/attended lectures etc. with/by Eiko HOSOE, Shomei TOUMATSU, Masahisa FUKASE, Daido MORIYAMA, Nobuyoshi ARAKI, following the current of PROVOKE that stood in opposition to the photography establishment of the 70’s. His close relationship with Daido Moriyama brought him to be a CAMP member; the mythical group and photo gallery founded by Daido MORIYAMA and Keizo KITAJIMA. Nakai-san was also co-manager of Place M with Daido MORIYAMA, Masato SETO and Nobuhiko ONO and founder and director of HOKUTEN gallery (North Point) in his hometown Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. 

Undoubtedly, his first steps into photography and revolt in the 70’s had a profound effect upon what his life as a Vagabond Photographer/folklorist and his photography came to be: a post Provoke/CAMP photography “アレ・ブレ・ボケ “ are-bure-boke” grainy/rough, blurry, out-of-focus” but sharply penetrating – penetrating to the core of the folklore of his homeland Tohoku … images centered on the Haunted North Point Costal Life.

For in)(between being able to organize Nakai’s-san exhibition even as a post-mortem exhibition is a climax, and key part our series of post Provoke and post CAMP exhibitions.  Inner-North in)(between record vol. 27 is a “Tribute to Hiroyasu NAKAI life as a photographer, and a remembrance of his death, February 17 2016”

Inner-North curated by Mr. Sadreddine AREZKI & 店長 (Mr. TENCHO) with the support of the Paris team, principally groups NAKAI’s works along 3 main axes: 1- Documentary/Folklore (fields and street photography), 2- a close-up of the fishing culture and life in TOHONKU, and 3- all hold together by series of “アレ・ブレ・ボケ “ are-bure-boke” grainy/rough, blurry, out-of-focus” photographs of the weather conditions prevailing in the core of Tohonku region. 

Inner-North could be seen as a continuation of his last exhibition (北斗の街―遡上の光景 – Hokuto no machi “Sojou no Koukei – Sight on the run-up – town of the North Star) with Daido MORIYAMA @ Shuji Terayama Museum August-Sept 2016, an exhibition partially curated by MORIYAMA-san and SASAME-san “Poster Hari’s Gallery. Yet with Inner-North we attempt to show the inner core of his homeland’s folklore “Tohoku”; a selection of + 100 prints from about 500 photographs mainly from his hometown Hachinohe and the villages of Japan’s northern Tohonku region. Inner-North encompasses a body of works centered on the Haunted North Point Costal Life. Grainy/rough, blurry, out-of-focus photographs yet sharply penetrating – questioning the core of the folklore of his homeland TOHOKU …

Unquestionable it is that there is a rich influence in his printing process from his past associations in the 70’s and 80’s working and learning alongside of Eiko HOSOE, Shomei TOUMATSU, Masahisa FUKASE, Nobuyoshi ARAKI, his close friend Daido MORIYAMA, and a few others who influenced/lead the Provoke Current. Nevertheless, Inner-North attempts to show NAKAI’s works as a sharp documentary, a searching documentary of the core of the folklore of his homeland TOHOKU.