Daido Moriyama 23 June - 20 August 2006

Daido Moriyama is one of the most important Japanese artists in the medium today. His work has had an enormous influence on the development of modern photography.
Moriyama generally takes his photos with a compact 35mm camera on the streets Japan’s principal cities. The images betray the speed at which they are made. Often the horizon is crooked and the photo is blurred, or the grain is visible and the contrast is turned too far. His subjects range from underexposed, obscure bars to strip clubs and dark alleys. He seems to be interested more in the suggestion of form than in a clear, well delineated figure. His visual idiom is rough and ready, and he often directs the lens at details that are out of context thereby evoking a fragmented and stifling atmosphere.

This exhibition at Foam presents prints of pictures taken in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, including photos from famous books such as ‘Farewell Photography’, ‘Light and Shadow’ and ‘Platform’. Most of the pictures shown are vintage prints.