Tokyo is the world's largest city, with a population of more than 13 million. The powerhouse economy of the island nation is built on a backbone of impressive infrastructure, and every square kilometer houses almost 6,000 people.
But through the camera of Lilou Lemaire, a professional French photographer who has worked with everyone from Chanel to Microsoft, Tokyo is also depicted as one of the most radiant.
The 13-image exhibit, Transparence From Tokyo, takes the reins from Lemaire's 2006 creation, Transparence From Europe, which hit galleries in Paris, Milan and London.
In the follow-up œuvre the viewer is privy to a vie quotidienne that includes misplaced glances, organic spaces, and lots of colourful objects. As the interplay between sunlight darkness clothe the metallic city in a variety of hues, the foreign photographer reveals an energetic peacefulness to the human interactions — and the lack there of — he witnesses.
His inner city ramblings also stumble upon a tender interplay between "the traditional" and "the modern" — co-stars in the urban drama. But there is no judgment here, only a set of beautiful tableaux superimposed one on the other.
Yes, the spirit of an ancient culture at the fore front of technological innovation may be an abstract idea, but it's one that Lemaire went after. The result is an exhibit that drifts between uncompromising reality and imaginary streetscapes.
From an artist who has traveled from the flashy towers of Dubai to the gut of the staid institution that is the French lycée, Transparence From Tokyo is a photographic vision of urbanity that's as powerfully rigid as it is poetically lush. THINK CONTRA
by Drew Penner
