Masahisa Fukase; From Window, 1974: 10 Portland Road
Michael Hoppen is delighted to announce an exhibition of Masahisa Fukase's series From Window, 1974, shown in London for the first time. This body of work, which has previously been published only in part, features 32 rare vintage silver gelatin photographs, offering insight into a relatively private dimension of Fukase's iconic practice.
"Shot each morning from the window of their apartment on the fourth floor of a sprawling suburban housing complex, Fukase captured Wanibe in the seconds as she was leaving their home to start out for her day job at a gallery in Tokyo. This instant became a ritualised moment of encounter between the couple, facing each-other across the threshold presented by the day ahead, with one foot in the home they shared and the other facing out towards a world that lay beyond the confines of their life together. The departure is punctuated by an exchange of glances, the expectant directness of her gaze towards the room that she is leaving behind in wordless dialogue with the camera that waits for her above.
Beseeching from beneath a parasol, insouciant in a skirt suit, by turns ecstatic, disgruntled, disdainful and amused; these photographs show the progress of days reflected in Yoko’s changing face. Her expressiveness animates each shot, the frame and focus of each picture determined by her poses and centred on her face. Fukase’s cropping allows for little sense of time or place to emerge from the background of grainy asphalt, with the series’ formal constraints allowing each day to be defined by Wanibe’s appearance — how she looks, and how she responds to being looked at. The calendar’s passage unfolds in the undulations of Wanibe’s wardrobe, as knee-high boots give way to sandals and the suit jacket is cast off in favour of a halterneck, whilst the temporality of their relationship follows a less linear trajectory through these daily performances."
Excerpt from, From Window. Text by Lucy Fleming-Brown
To request the full preview of works, please email gallery@michaelhoppengallery.com.
