Ah the end of the week. And with many many distractions along the way I`ve made it to the end of my week-long series. I was saving this photographer for last, not necessarily the best, but the most dramatic… because I need a little drama in my life.
Atsushi Okada recently completed a PhD program in fine arts at Tokyo Polytechnic. He first received critical acclaim in 2003 for “Platibe,” a dispirited look at youth, attempting to define themselves in modern day society.
image courtesy of Atsushi Okada
For his most recent project, which was on display at B GALLERY earlier this year, Okada returns to his roots, calling on Japan’s youth from around the country to model for him. Models included young teenagers and youth who had been hurt by others, or who had hurt themselves, or even attempted suicide. There has been a lot of discussion in the media lately (actually in recent years) about Japan’s youth and how they are more unstable, and how, as a result, Japan’s legendary status as a crime-free society has been called into question.
Everyone has a theory, whether it be western influence or video games and comics that desensitize you towards violence. I have no idea what’s going on, if anything. However, art can often be a means of healing, and I think that is exactly what Okada is proposing here.
images courtesy of konika minolta
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