This is a book that has been sitting about in the clutter of my lounge for a few weeks now and I have picked it up and flicked through it quite a number of times in an attempt to come to terms with what it has to offer. Antonio Julio Duarte’s Japan Drug has been about for a while but went out of stock at Martin Amis’ Photobookstore uk where I buy most of my books and I guess that’s a sign of success if ever there was one. However, my signed copy eventually arrived from Martin, and somewhat unfortunately for Duarte, it came along with Mayumi Hosokura’s Crystal Love Starlight which eclipsed it with its simple but beautiful concept and presentation. I think I will review it in the coming weeks as it illustrates what I think is an important point about photo books in general and makes for a very interesting contrast with Duarte’s Tokyo. Anyway, lets get into the subject of this weeks review, Japan Drug.

When the book arrived, and prior to me having taken a considered look at it, I did wonder about the title and what I could infer from the rather neat sounding, ‘Japan Drug’. As you might expect I wondered if Duarte was trying to weave some narcotic, trippy spell or was he attempting to show what an addiction the Tokyo experience had become for him? (as it becomes for many of us) As it turns out, I found it to be neither of these but I can certainly sense what Duarte was doing here and the book has some really superb little sequences and in particular some standout pairings of his ideas. In order to show this best, and because the physical structure of the book made it difficult to photograph, I have decided to shoot the book just as it looked to me, held up in front of me with the window light behind. In this way I hope to give a better sense of when and why it works, and also what doesn’t quite hit home with this book.

First up, I am a big fan of the simplicity of this book. The whole book is page by page square format shots paired, sometimes very convincingly across the pages from each other. Simple yes, but with this comes the extraordinary challenge of maintaining energy throughout the book in the absence of any of the more conventional or unconventional mechanisms that photographers normally employ to create flow, emphasise, break, or sometimes even disrupt the sequencing of their shots in book structure. These of course are the grammar and syntax mechanisms of the photographer in this context and its almost an art in its own right, I am sure their are many great photographers who have very little idea of how to edit and sequence their shots into book form. Duarte I think is to be applauded in this respect, he has had the courage to present his work in a simple, sequential manner. His only problem I believe is that he just didn’t have enough compelling material to sustain the energy of a book made in this way.

The book itself, as explained in a note at the back, was shot on Duarte’s first visit to Tokyo in 1997 and its not clear how long he stayed for but, given my previous comment, I don’t think he stayed long enough. Having said that, what we do have is a nice snapshot of pre-millenia Tokyo and a document of how Duarte saw it, what interested and perhaps surprised him. The book does have a kind of ‘street photography’ feel about it and occasionally Duarte strays dreadfully close to the tricky juxtapositions and boring humour that often accompanies photographic work in that style. Luckily, the vast majority of the time he does stay above it and there are some really nice pairings that create a stimulating insight into the Tokyo of that time (and indeed the current day).

Its easy as a first time foreign visitor to Tokyo to feel the isolation, strangeness and weird polite protocols that exist but its quite a different challenge to represent that photographically and I personally think that is Duarte’s biggest success with this book, somehow he has been able to translate his Tokyo experience into a coherent set of ideas. I mentioned the pairings and some of them, like the previous example, work very well to show that isolation and strangeness in a very powerful way.

Here is another one, and I think this emphasises what I said about Duarte elevating his work and avoiding the cliche traps. This is where his pairings are so important, its the beautiful second photo that takes this out of the predictable and obvious with its complementary form and flowing, poetic accompaniment to the all to standard Girlie sign shot. I think if you look at these photographs separately for a moment and cover up one and then the other, you quickly see that neither photo works in isolation, and that is for me one of the artistic challenges, and ultimately, triumphs of the photo book when it works properly.

As I said at the start, the only problem that I have with this book is that Duarte does not have enough quality in his overall work to sustain these ideas, in this format. That leads to gaps where the energy simply drains away because of a ‘filler’ sequence. I think anyone who has been to Tokyo and has any appreciation of how it has been represented photographically will quickly tire of shots like these.

And this pairing, which for some reason he uses to close the book.

Like I said, I am no fan at all of the smart interplay between people and posters or signs that are the hallmark of much of this type of photography and Duarte does wander in there a few times however, most of the time his observations work and, the pairings make his point.

This is about as close to the border as I think you can get, but it works ok here and thankfully it doesn’t get repeated too often. Again, neither of these is particularly interesting in isolation but the combo works and I think the cropping of the right hand shot just brings it home. Personally I prefer when his interplays create more tension, and I quite like the following set.

Here’s another nice example of where the pairings work with each other to create something beyond what each of the photos was capable of on their own.

Okay, I think you should have a pretty good feel for the book by now. Duarte has created an impression of Tokyo based on the interplay of signs, iconic triggers and people. For the most part this is an interesting, if superficial viewpoint but maybe that is to be expected and indeed could not be anything else for a visitor. Occasionally however, he falls into the visitor trap of shooting things that might appear initially interesting however, are real cliches and have been shot this way (and better) by many, many Japanese photographers who have a better and deeper feel for the city. That said, I think this is an honest and interesting book with some truly original and thought provoking moments and at the end of the day I am glad I waited for it as an addition to the library. I think from a readers point of view, your judgement and appreciation of this book may depend on how much you know and like Tokyo and indeed Japanese photography. If you are a fan of Japanese photography then I think this book will be slightly disappointing to you, if not, its an interesting and I think enjoyable book that, while it does not break into any new territory, has just enough on offer to make it worthwhile.

Free Art (well S$10 entry to be totally truthful)

Just a couple of shots this week and they are my favourites from the ‘An Ocean of Possibilities’ show that just opened at the Singapore Art & Science centre at MBS. Not quite free as the title mentions, but although I was pretty disappointed overall, still worth ten bucks of any photographers money and there is plenty on show.

First, here are two shots from a really nice set by Polish photographer Tomasz Tomaszewski. This is a real standout in the exhibition in my opinion and these were the pick of his shots, fittingly highlighted as such by a shaft of light from the overhead windows.

Then, I think this wonderful piece of art is by Nermine Hammam from Egypt and its very obvious where the influences came from. I spent quite a while at these and found them to be beautifully thought out and creatively delivered.

Fave Photo, Bertien van Manen

Its kinda tough to pick a single photo from a Bertien van Manen book, they don’t lend themselves to that. The photo I picked this week though has intrigued me for a while even although its not immediately an out and out eye catcher. It comes from her Mack published ‘Moonshine’ which is based on her travels amongst the people of the Appalachian mountain region of the US. One of the things that is immediately striking about her book is the down to earth reality of it all. These are poor, hard living and hard drinking people as the book title suggests and somehow Bertien was accepted by them and its very clear that she enjoyed and benefited from a high degree of trust that came with that acceptance. These people were often the descendants of poor Scottish and Irish immigrants that had been as good as white slaves in the Carolinas (thats a story for another day) and having either escaped or been released from the plantations they were drawn to the forests and mountains and still have a very understandable mistrust of strangers. It would be oh so easy to poke fun or belittle these people, as indeed was the fate of their ancestors and their reclusiveness becomes entirely understandable when you look at the way they are normally perceived and presented in the media. I think it is the rawness and heartbreaking honesty of this photograph that attracts me to it so much. Sure, the trashiness and squalor is there, the symbolism, the cars and trucks, the baby on the ground, the caps and open shirts, the one eyed leer, the potential for caricature and cliche is there in overabundance, but somehow thats not the feeling that I get from the photo. I find that I read this shot like a piece of theatre, I don’t find the people in it at all threatening, in fact I feel as if I know them and they are acting out a universal story only they are dressed in the costume and surrounded by the props of their particular circumstance. Think about it for a moment, this is the absolute normality of life portrayed through a different perspective. The parents?, the young couple kissing, the baby, who amongst us doesn’t have experience of this? I guess if you want you can take this photo many different ways, political comment?, urban decay? societal decline?, threatening?, I don’t know, the choice is yours, but I know how it looks to me, I see this as a piece of tapestry composed of the most simple and basic elements of our life experience, only its observed in a way that may challenge your sensibilities.

Thanks for lasting the course this week if you re now reading this. Not sure about the next two Sundays for reviews as I am off to Paris photo week and have an absolutely jammed week ahead. To all of my friends who are going I very much look forward to seeing you all again.

Colin Steel, Sunday 2nd November Singapore