Renowned architectural photographer Tom Blachford will showcase Nihon Noir, his work of post-modern Japanese architecture, at the CCP Photo Fair in Melbourne.

Nihon simply means ‘Japan’ and together with ‘Noir’ creates a play on the Neon Noir genre of film that inspired the aesthetic of the series, particularly the seminal classic Blade Runner and the later work of Nicholas Winding-Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives).

“Nihon Noir arose from my fascination with Tokyo and my desire to translate the feeling that struck me on my first visit, that somehow you have been transported to a parallel future where everything is more alien than familiar,” says Blachford.

As a starting point the series follows the work of Kenzo Tange, Japan’s Pritzker Prize winning architect and his Disciples of the Metabolist movement of postwar modernist architecture,” says Blachford.

“I selected a core list of buildings that embodied the Metabolist philosophy which attempted to combine the creation of brutalist megastructures with the principles of organic growth. Beyond the core interest of the metabolist movement I also tracked buildings created during the post-modern era of the 1990s as well as tighter street vistas that spoke to me and embodied the cyberpunk feeling of Tokyo.”

Nagakin Capsule Tower

Shooting by night and devoid of people, the images are intended to ask more questions than they answer.

Each building required hours of exploration to find the perfect vantage point whether it be from a rooftop, stairwell or road workers crane lift.

Though these buildings are from the past (most from 1970-1999) they appear as if they have appeared from the distant future.

“My intention is for the viewer to ask not ‘where’ they were taken but ‘when,’” he adds.

The CCP Photo Fair will be held at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Fitzroy, on 15-18 August.

Architecture News & Editorial Desk

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