If you hurry, you may be able to catch the final week of photographer Yoshiyuki Okuyama‘s exhibition “BACON ICE CREAM” at the Parco Museum in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. Showcasing roughly 100 works from the past 5 years, this mini-retrospective show celebrates Okuyama’s prodigious entrance into the competitive Tokyo art scene. His photography features characters that seem to emerge from ruptures— ruptures that offer a glimpse into alternate realities whose environments are peppered with vibrant hues or glazed over with dreamy pastel palettes.
A promising emerging artist, Okuyama (born 1991) won the 34th Canon New Cosmos of Photography award as a university student in 2011. An artist with a relentless work ethic, Okuyama shoots for magazines, advertisements, CD jackets, and creates films on the side. Despite his age, his clients range from fashion giant Burberry to kids’ clothing periodical MilK magazine. He has published two photography books ‘Girl’ and ‘A REAL UN REAL AGE’ and fans can expect another named after his show at Parco to come out soon.
Photobooks will be pre-released during the exhibition at Parco. Don’t forget to follow Okuyama on Instagram to keep track of his artistic whereabouts.
The show is up until February 7th (although it is closed on the 3rd). Hours are 10 am – 9 pm, and admission costs 500 yen for adults, 400 yen for students, free for elementary school kids. Admission ends 30 minutes before closing-time, so arrive early!
At left, the subject emits daggers of light (much like Bjork’s spiky face mask) and at right, a model is dissected into multiple parts vis-a-vis stacked television screens (Nam June Paik, anyone?)
People running while reading, and ladies stuffed into grocery carts. Okuyama’s photography adds unconventional twists to elements of everyday life, meriting a second glance, a third, and so on.
Who knew the human body could look so lovely enmeshed in layers of frilly fabric and dressed like a luminescent jelly fish floating in the sky.
In this snap, it is difficult to tell where one body ends and the other begins. Lengths of luscious hair frame the models’ delicate features.
This jarringly dramatic and surreal composition seems to mimic a crime-scene, albeit set up against angular retro wallpaper.
Like a Grecian statue, this figure stands indefinitely frozen in time, pierced through the face with a lance-like ray of light.
Last but not least, check out Okuyama’s project “creep” here.
