Jörgen Axelvall / Go to become

Jörgen Axelvall

Go to become
limited edition of 600 copies
50 pages, French binding
22 black & white plates,8 color plates
hardcover , silk-screen printing on cloth
poetry : Mutsuo Takahashi
Japanese and English
book design ; Katsuya Kato
size ; 228mm x 274mm x 12mm

roshin books 2017
ISBN 978-4-9907230-7-1
release date ; 15 March 2017

　スウェーデン出身の写真家ヨーガン・アクセルバルは１５年に及びNYでの活動の後、日本に拠点を移すべく２０１１年に東京に移住しました。人口密集度が極端に高い世界に疲れ寂しさを覚えた彼は安らぎを求めて居場所を探しました。そして鳥の声が響きわたるような静寂な場所をみつけます。まさしくそれは彼にとっては聖域のようなものでした。モデルを使って撮影しその姿から表現された身体美は、紛れもなく作家自身の解放された心の叫びであったのです。
　そしてこの作品に、詩人 高橋睦郎は「なりに行く Go to become」と冠した詩を詠みました。写真と詩が織り成す一瞬のシークエンスを上質な装丁と印刷で編みました。
　本作品に収録されている作品の一部で、２０１３年にBottega VenetaとVOGUETが主催するThe New Exposure Photography CompetitionのInternational部門を受賞しています。
http://jorgenaxelvall.com/

In 2011 Jörgen Axelvall moved to Tokyo after living in NYC for 15 years.
The work in Go To Become is Axelvall’s expression of his feelings as a newcomer to Japan. It is in every aspect biographical.
The oxymoronic combination of feeling excluded and lonely on the crowded streets of Tokyo led Axelvall to seek out desolate and quiet environments. These places soon became his personal sanctuaries where he would find refuge and peace of mind from the hustle of the city, often in the middle of night.
Several of these photographs earned Axelvall the New Exposure Award from US Vogue and Bottega Veneta in 2013. When asked by the jury for a brief description Axelvall said the following:

I live in a big city
the biggest in the world by some measure
I’m a foreigner here
at times I feel trapped, alienated and lonely
amongst the millions of people calling this home

These images were all photographed in central Tokyo
not far from my home in Shibuya
at the sanctuaries
where I find peace

A lover of poetry and literature, Axelvall later teamed up with Mutsuo Takahashi, one of the most prominent and prolific poets in contemporary Japan. With more than 130 books published, including dozens of poetry collections, Takahashi’s poetry successfully spans all the major Japanese poetic forms. After listening to Axelvall’s story and looking at the photographs, Takahashi wrote the poem “Go To Become” [in Japanese なりに行く] specially for this project.