shashasha

“Recently I realized the act of taking a photograph may be akin to stealing something of importance from the object. I asked myself, Have I been stealing shadows?”
― from Izuru Takeya’s afterword

Whatever it is that Izuru Takeya has stolen from his subjects, we can be thankful that he shares it with his audience. His high-contrast black-and-white captures taken during his journeys throughout Japan not always make it clear what it was that Takeya aimed his lens at, but clarity is not the main objective anyway. Takeya’s captures give us a glance at the world’s manifold beauty. Though often abstracted, he maintains a direct connection with reality throughout the book, whether he is catching crows sitting on telegraph wires or the leaf of a tree laden with water drops or a strangely inquisitive glance from a child or patterns in the thawing snow.

“The obscure scenery, a place that cannot be specified, an unidentified image. These abstract constructs coalesce into a new shape that appeals to all five senses. Unlike my previous book, here you can see, smell, hear, touch and taste for yourself.”
— from Izuru Takeya’s afterword

In addition to an afterword by the artist, Izuru Takeya’s “Shadow Thief” also includes a short essay by curator and art critic Maiko Yamauchi (all texts included in Japanese and English).