shashasha

No matter what means of expression Keiichi Tahara appropriates in his works, they are always premised on their reconstruction as light and shadow… The works are constantly inflected as they perennially shift and transform. Inside and outside, white and black, nature and culture­. The introverted and extroverted aspects of Tahara’s personality do not contradict each other. His introversion is apparent from the long years he spent shooting windows for his “Fenêtre” series and fixing his gaze on interior living spaces for his “Eclat” series. That he traveled around Europe makingSeikimatsu kenchiku[fin-de-siecle architecture], his massive six-volume set of books of images of architecture, or rather spaces, is evidence of his simultaneous extroversion. These various aspects of his work are not in opposition. They are constructed along a continuum… The infinite number of fractals and fissures, which Tahara’s photographic activities produce, are important because they empty all interpretations of meaning while requiring their endless regurgitation, and further create a new existential ecology equipped with a universe of new lines of meaning and referents.

• Excerpt from Felix Guattari, “Les machinations de lumiere de Keiichi Tahara”

Tahara works in a variety of media, ranging from photography, sculpture, and various installations to massive light-scape pieces that are produced as a part of urban planning projects. His commitment to the search for the form of light and his delicate but strong sensibility towards light and shadow constitute the foundation of all of his works. Both his early series “Fenêtre” and “Eclat”, which the current exhibition comprises, already embodies these features of Tahara’s oeuvre.

Keiichi Tahara was born in Kyoto in 1951. He began making photographs after moving to France in 1972, producing “Ville” from 1973 to 1974 and “Fenêtre” from 1973 to 1980. In 1977, he won the Grand Prix at the Rencontres d’Arles in France. He went on to produce a variety of photographic works including the “Portrait” series (1978–1987) and “Eclat” series (1979–1983), and traveled throughout Europe to photograph late 19thcentury architectural spaces. In the late 1980s, he carried out light-based projects in many parts of the globe. His works are on permanent display in museums and other various sites.