The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in Ebisu, Tokyo, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a grand reopening on September 3rd. To commemorate this, the "Sugimoto Hiroshi: Lost Human" exhibition is running until November 13th. Contemporary artist Sugimoto Hiroshi presents an installation exploring the grand theme of the end of humanity and civilization.

The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum has reopened after undergoing extensive renovations that lasted approximately two years. The museum's new nickname, "TOP MUSEUM," takes its name from the English name "Tokyo Photographic Art Museum." The first and second floor entrances have been redesigned to be brighter and more open than before, new video and audio equipment has been installed in the second floor entrance, and a cafe, "Maison Ichi," has opened on the first floor, marking the museum's first time opening a shop. The first exhibition since the renovation, "Hiroshi Sugimoto: Lost Human," features three series across two floors: the world premiere of the new series "Abandoned Theater," the Japan premiere of "Today the World Died, Perhaps Yesterday," and the new installation "Sea of Buddha." Sugimoto expressed regret over the recent renovation, explaining that the exhibition's concept is "the end of the world." "Today the World Died, Perhaps Yesterday" is a Japanese reimagining of an exhibition on the same theme that took place at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2014. The rusted charcoal that fills the third-floor exhibition room was mostly collected in Paris. The 33 scenarios for the end of civilization are accompanied by his own works, as well as antique art, fossils, books, and historical documents from his collection. All scenarios are told in the first person, with the protagonists representing a wide range of roles, from "idealist" to "beekeeper" to "Director-General of the World Health Organization." While the fantastical stories are sometimes comical, the exhibits, strongly reflecting their historical background, lend them a sense of reality.

The exhibition room on the second floor is divided into two large sections. Stepping into this dimly lit space, one is greeted by the world premiere of the photographic work "Abandoned Theater." This new series, an extension of the "Theater" series Sugimoto has been creating since the 1970s, sees him visit abandoned theaters across the United States, reattaching their screens himself, and using a projector he brought with him to screen "disaster movies" depicting disasters, natural disasters, and nuclear war, using long exposures equivalent to the light of a single film. The screens in the photographs glow white, as if illuminated from within by fluorescent lights, revealing every last detail of the theaters' dazzling décor as they decay. Finally, we have "Sea of Buddhas," a work Sugimoto has been working on for over ten years. This composition embodies Sugimoto's desire to conclude this exhibition, which evokes the sense of the end of civilization, with the salvation of Buddha. This work was born from his desire to see the Thousand-Armed Kannon statue at the main hall of Rengeo-in Temple in Kyoto (commonly known as Sanjusangendo) in the ideal light it would have been in at the time of its construction. The photographs were taken over ten summer days, beginning at 5:30 a.m. and allowing access to the temple for three hours. The Thousand Buddhas, shining in the morning sun, were unimaginably beautiful, and standing alone among the shining statues, he had a premonition that "this is what death is like." The Thousand Buddhas, captured in black and white, are far more realistic and solemn than those seen with the naked eye under fluorescent light. Sugimoto says of this exhibition, "I believe it transcends both photography and art." "Today the world died, perhaps yesterday" is meant to sound the alarm that this must not happen. Unlike an academic presenting their findings in a paper, as an artist I wanted to raise the issue by letting objects speak and expressing it as art. I composed the scenario with the number 33 because it is related to Buddhist numbers in relation to Sanjusangendo Temple and its "Sea of Buddha." It is a so-called negative presentation, but I hope it will prompt people to think about how to prevent humanity and civilization from becoming mere relics."
【Exhibition Information】
"Sugimoto Hiroshi: Lost Human" Exhibition, Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Museum's Reopening
Venue: Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, 2nd and 3rd Floor Exhibition Rooms
Address: Yebisu Garden Place, 1-13-3 Mita, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Dates: September 3rd - November 13th
Hours: 10:00 - 18:00
*Until 20:00 on Thursdays and Fridays (except September 9th and 10th, until 21:00)
*Last admission 30 minutes before closing
Admission: 1,000 yen for adults, 800 yen for students, 700 yen for junior and senior high school students and those 65 and over
Closed: Mondays (except September 19th and October 10th, but closed September 20th and October 11th)