Kosuke Okahara

Kosuke Okahara
Born 1980
Tokyo, Japan
Occupation Documentary Photographer
Television https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhL7XSHBvAc
Website www.kosukeokahara.com

Kosuke Okahara (born 1980) is a Japanese photographer known for his intimate images with a sensitive approach covering various social issues. His pictures are deeply rooted in the tradition of humanistic documentary photography.

Biography

After a period of training and competing in freestyle skiing at international level, Kosuke Okahara[1] studied education at Waseda University. Upon obtaining his degree, he embarked on a career as a photographer , alternating between news reporting and long-term personal projects from the very beginning.

His initial trip led him to Sudan (2004), Burma (2007), China (2007), as well as his first trip to Colombia (2006), a project which he is at the point of conclusion in 2015.

Meanwhile, in 2004, he began "Ibasyo" a long-term photographic essay[2] on adolescent self-mutilation in Japan. Going against a society that ignores a phenomenon it considers to be shameful, Kosuke Okahara is passionately committed to bringing this delicate subject to light. He gradually took on the pluralistic roles that of a photographer, a close friend, a witness, and even a social worker. Bringing these sufferers out from the shadows of anonymity, "Ibasyo" breaks a major taboo in Japanese society and exemplifies the ethical and aesthetic approach of his work.

All of his work, deeply rooted in the tradition of humanistic photojournalism, have received various the support from the most prestigious institutions.

A member of Agence VU' between 2007-2010, Kosuke Okahara is the winner of PDN's 30 (New York 2009), Joop Swart Masterclass of World Press Photo (Amsterdam 2009), Eugene Smith Fellowship (New York 2010),[3] Getty Images Grants (Perpignan 2012)[4] and Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Award (Perpignan 2014).[5]

Critical support when you take into account the impressive number of trips he has made for his projects, such as the multiple visits to Colombia since 2006 where he continues the investigation, with links to Mexico and the United States. Drugs, social violence, migrations add up to a photographic narrative which he pushes to the limit. With, on arrival, a description which is both factual and poetic in which photography is evidence as well as enigma. One of his series that he photographed in Colombia has been published and exhibited as a part of "100 years of Leica photography".

Other current issues in his photography: the Arab uprisings or the chaos on the Russian periphery[6] are just two examples.[7] One can also cite his work in Calais in 2008 where the constant presence of immigration issues is glaring.

Since the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, he documents the region devastated by the disaster with a particular attention given to the signs of time.[8] Again, we see the marriage of precise facts and enigmatic images. What lingers is the feeling of frozen chaos and progressive abandonment. This work is now the subject of a book, "Fukushima Fragments" published by Editions de La Martinière in 2015.[9]

Gallery Representations

Books

Awards

Exhibitions (solo)

Exhibitions (group)

References

  1. ↑ "NYTimes.com Search". query.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  2. ↑ "Video: Photographer Kosuke Okahara on Japanese Women Who Cut Themselves". Asia Society. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  3. ↑ "Darcy Padilla receives $30,000 W. Eugene Smith photography grant". pmanewsline.com. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  4. ↑ Wallace, Vaughn. "Getty Awards $80,000 to Four Photojournalists at Perpignan". TIME.com. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  5. ↑ Hatakeyama, Takuya (2015-02-04). "Award-winning photographer vows to continue work with Colombia’s drug gangs". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  6. ↑ Rykoff, Mark. "Pictures of Transnistria: An Unrecognized State Caught Between Past and Present". TIME.com. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  7. ↑ "In Sochi’s Shadow". Newsweek. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  8. ↑ "Fragments of Fukushima". New York Times - Lens Blog. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  9. ↑ "Fukushima, Fragments - Kosuke Okahara". www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  10. ↑ "Kosuke Okahara - Festival Photoreporter". Festival Photoreporter. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  11. ↑ "Ibasyo - Kunsthal". www.kunsthal.nl. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  12. ↑ "Eyes Wide Open!". C/O Berlin. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  13. ↑ HAMBURG, DEICHTORHALLEN. "100 YEARS OF LEICA". deichtorhallen.de. Kehrer Vertag. Retrieved 2016-01-02.

External links


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