The work of Uruma Takezawa, one of Japan’s rising stars in the field of photography, and the recently announced Grand Prize Winner of the third Nikkei National Geographic Photo Prize, will be on view in New York this spring as part of “Sashin: Photography from Japan,” a new multi-exhibition program that will take place in New York City in April and May 2015 to raise greater awareness of Japanese photographers. Takewaza’s first exhibition in the United States features over 40 photographs, including seven large-scale works, which explore and document the diversity of the world’s people and communities.
In March of 2010, Takezawa embarked on a rigorous photographic journey that would last 1,021 days and take him to 103 countries on four continents. His mission was to discover and document people and communities located in remote areas of the world who live off the land in harmony with the natural world. Equipped only with a small backpack of personal belongings and his cameras, Takezawa travelled alone by bus, train, and car, on foot and horseback, and even kayaking down rivers, often enduring tough terrains, to reach his destinations.
Takezawa’s beautiful and luminous photographs capture the dignity and resilience of his subjects and the power of the human spirit. Takezawa writes: “It’s a wide world — far wider than we think, and much deeper. That is the most important thing I learned from my long journey. It is my hope that the ‘Land’ photos will enable viewers to sense the width of the world and the depth of people’s hearts.” His around-the-world odyssey would take Takezawa to Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East, North America and South America, where he visited countries that include: Bolivia, Brazil, China, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Madagascar, Mali, Peru, South Sudan, Tibet, and Uganda.
Uruma Takezawa (born in 1977) began his career as a marine photographer and once spent 365 straight days traveling seas and oceans around the world to take underwater photographs. He estimates that during his career in this specialized area of photography he spent nearly 500 hours a year underwater. He eventually reached what he felt was his peak as an underwater photographer. He writes: “The ocean and its seascapes had become so familiar for me … I desired to see the different faces of the world. I decided to come ashore and make a long trip in order to see the world with my own eyes.” An accomplished commercial photographer, Takezawa’s clients include advertising agencies and magazines. He left Japan for his around-the-world trip on March 18, 2010, returning December 31, 2012.
EXHIBITION
Land by Uruma Takezawa
From April 21st to May 5th, 2015
Foto-Care Gallery
43 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10010
USA
