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Reviews |
As a girl who knows Hermes from Hennes |
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'Happy Victims' is Tsuzuki's first solo exhibition in England and consists of thirty portraits of individuals who all share an obsession with designer clothing. Tsuzuki has previously been a cultural jack of all trades alternating between nightclub designer, art curator, journalist and book publisher. In 1993 he produced 'Tokyo Style', a book of photographs exploring how young city dwellers had adapted to notoriously cramped living conditions by designing strange and resourceful interiors. For his current exhibition Tsuzuki has again gained access into people's living spaces but this time the results are somehow more revealing, more intimate. The 'Happy Victims' sit in minute rooms, lovingly surrounded by pristine garments from the designer of their choice. The focus is not on the individual, who is often blurred, but on the clothing that it is felt defines them. A Buddhist monk is shown in his Tokyo retreat surrounded by his Commes des Garcon collection. Once a month he leaves his temple to visit Tokyo for shopping and fun. In the temple he may wear a robe, but in Tokyo he wears nothing but Garcon. Strangely, he sees the designs as having a religious quality. His sister, a former delinquent, apparently reformed when she found Garcon. |
The fetishistic worship of designers is highlighted by a photo of Yoyogi Hachiman. He describes himself as being so devoted to Hermes that he carries his 500,000 yen Hermes briefcase in a (Hermes) towel to protect it from his own sweat. Let Yoyogi be a lesson to us all. As the Anna Sui devotee rests with a blissful expression on her face, reclining in her kitsch and colourful Anna Sui temple, there is nothing tragic about her. The photos celebrate the passion of the collector and do not trivialise the object for being merely clothing. Unfortunately a number of designers have not returned the devotees admiration and have tried to have their brand removed from the exhibition, fearing that it would create a negative image for the label. This is the only point at which the people become victims - victims of the fashion PR machine. Kyoichi Tsuzuki considers himself to be a journalist not an artist, seeing himself as 'a mediator who exposes the creative power of unknown artists, the man in the street, in the country, everywhere in the world'. What he has achieved is an intriguing collection of photos which verge on the voyeuristic, allowing us to stare a moment longer than is normally allowed, into the private space of a room or obsession. Zoey Goto |
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Fotonet is funded by Arts
Council England |
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Eye Division