Daidō Moriyama – A Broken Composition of Reality 

A mirror is hidden in the diversity of shadows we encounter in the lens of lost time, distorted reality – a place where even the tremor of alienation cannot be recognized… In our own realities, among the dark and striking frames of the filmstrip we call life that keeps coming at us, our lens catches Daidō Moriyama. What greets us is a teaching to let out what is inside us. 

Kanye West, who was recently rumoured to have moved to Japan, and his indispensable companion Bianca Censori appeared in Tokyo with lifestyles that can only be described as ‘upper-class homeless’. In this process, cultural icon Ye must have crossed paths with Daidō Moriyama, as the cover image of his new album ‘Bully’ features the artist’s signature. The meeting of Moriyama’s lens with Ye’s creative vision signals that the album will not only be a music but also a visual experience. At this point, we can only hope that we will not face another case of ‘Vultures’.

In the chaotic 60s and 70s of Japan’s so-called Provoke era, Daidō Moriyama, one of the masters of today’s ‘are, bure, boke’ style, redefined the nature of this art by challenging the norms of the photography world, revolutionizing it with a bold and unconventional style. This style opens the door to a radical break with traditional photographic codes. Moriyama often captures urban life and its gritty underbelly through unusual compositions, high-contrast black and white images and fleeting everyday moments. It is certainly a manifesto against alienation, impermanence and the fragmented nature of modern life. 

Moriyama embraces photography as a kind of democratic language, adding ‘’For me, photography is not a means of creating fine art, but a unique way of encountering true reality.‘’ With this discourse, the camera goes from being a tool that captures images to a mirror that does not grasp the essence of a changing society. It is a period of rapid transformation; in every frame there are both sad echoes of the past and concrete reflections of the uncertain traces of the future.  

His lens is a psycho-drama that deeply exposes the inner world of society, its dark corners and existential complexities. Like everything else in existence, his photographs are the essence of its degraded, battered state, and he turns them into a sharply disturbing emphasis. A raw and unfiltered approach, like an assimilation that brings the darkness into existence along with its shadow – ambiguous and naked as can be.