Masahisa FukaseThe Whimsical and Eye [April 15 May 21, 2023]

Masahisa Fukase (1934-2012) was born in Bifuka, Hokkaido. Photography was firmly ingrained in his upbringing helping his family’s photography business at the Fukase Photo Studio. ....Fukase’s extensive photographic career encompasses a diverse array of works. Walking Eye is a series of photographs taken while traversing the length of a river in Tokyo from its origin to its mouth. Memories of Father was a series of domestic snapshots taken in Hokkaido over 20 years until his father Sukezo’s death. In Private Scenes, Fukase frames his face or feet into his images; in Bukubuku, he captures himself in various positions while submerged in bathwater; and Berobero features photographs of his tongue intertwined with those of people he met in bars. He was an artist who ran wildly outside the bounds of photographic convention. This exhibition, presented in collaboration with the Masahisa Fukase Archives, will highlight the whimsical nature of Fukase’s oeuvre through a selection of photographs from three of his iconic series, Raven, Yohko, and Sasuke.

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MEM (Multiply Encoded Messages) was founded in 1997 by Katsuya Ishida in Shitennoji, Osaka. After that, it moved to Esaka and operated as a private space for a while.In 2003, it moved to the 4th floor of the Arai Building, a registered tangible cultural property built in 1923 in Kitahama, Osaka, and opened to the public to introduce contemporary art.

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