特異な世界

先週、東京へ行ってきました

お取引先さまへの代表交代のあいさつや今後の打合せが主な目的だったのですが、スケベなおさぴーは「そうだ、久しぶりにお江戸へ行くのならアチコチ観てみよう」と泊まりで出かけました

で、お仕事以外で訪れたのは上野の森

先ずは、国立科学博物館で催されている「大絶滅展」とそれに附随して開かれている福山雅治さんの写真展

先日その情報を知って、もしチャンスがあったら観たいなぁと思っていたものがリアルになりました

とても素晴らしいフォトの数々

NHK「ホットスポット 最後の楽園」で撮影された、絶滅の危機にある動物たちの写真
とても見応えもあり、また考えさせられるものでした

そして、もう一つの写真展

これは訪れたお取引先さまのＩさんからお聴きしたもの

すぐ近くの「上野の森美術館」で開催されている ヨシダナギ写真展 「HEROES-RELOADED-」

おさぴーはこのヨシダナギさんのこと、全然知らなかったので美術館の紹介ポスターを観たときにはあまりピンときませんでした

ところがところが、作品を観てみると、もうまさにビックリ！！

世界中に点在している先住民族と少数民族の写真を撮り続けていらっしゃる女性の作品です

極彩色で彩られた誇り高く美しい民族の姿を「え～っ」と思われる写真に切り取っています

そう云った先住民族 少数民族、例えば日本のアイヌやタンザニアのマサイなどなど

なかなか普通にはお目にかかれなし、場合によっては逢いに行くだけでも危険なところもあります

そんなシチュエーションの中、その人たちに民族衣装を着用してもらい「ヒーロー」のような佇まいで写真にする

考えただけでも、「スゴイなぁ」という声しか出てきませんでした。

普通の感覚でいるおさぴーから見れば、この発想、行動力、コミュニケーション能力

ぶっ飛んでいるように思いました

まさに常人からすれば特異なポジションの作品群でした

30分くらいかなと思っていたのが、二時間半ほどその世界に浸かっていました

やはり、出かけないとそう云う機会にはめぐり逢えないものと思うと同時に、それを紹介してくださったＩさんとのご縁やタイミングに感謝した時間でした

※ このヨシダナギ写真展 「HEROES-RELOADED-」は、東京上野、「上野の森美術館」で今月27日まで開催中です

観てみたいなと思われた方、正解です ぜひ出かけてみてください

※写真は自由に撮って発信してくださいとのことでしたのでここに掲載させていただきました

A Singular World

Last week, I went up to Tokyo.

The main purpose was to greet our business partners about the change in management and to discuss future plans.
But being the slightly scheming Osapi that I am, I thought, “Well, if I’m going all the way to Edo for the first time in a while, I might as well stay over and look around a bit,” and turned it into an overnight trip.

The place I visited outside of work was Ueno no Mori (the Ueno Park area).

First stop was the Great Mass Extinction Exhibition at the National Museum of Nature and Science, and the accompanying photography exhibition by Masaharu Fukuyama.

I had recently come across information about it and thought, “If I ever get the chance, I’d really like to see that.”
This time, that wish came true.

The photos were absolutely wonderful.

They showed animals on the brink of extinction, photographed for the NHK program “Hot Spot: Saigo no Rakuen” (“Hot Spot: The Last Paradise”).
The images were powerful, deeply moving, and really made you think.

Then there was one more photo exhibition.
This one I heard about from Mr. I at one of the companies I visited.

Very close by, at the Ueno Royal Museum, they’re holding Yoshida Nagi Photo Exhibition “HEROES -RELOADED-”.

I have to admit, I didn’t know anything about Yoshida Nagi before this.
So when I first saw the promotional poster for the exhibition, it didn’t really click with me.

But then I actually stepped inside and saw the works—and I was stunned.

They are photographs taken by a female photographer who travels the world, continuously photographing indigenous and minority peoples living in scattered regions across the globe.

She captures these proud, beautiful peoples—dressed in dazzlingly colorful traditional clothing—in images that make you go, “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this!”

Indigenous and minority groups like that—say, the Ainu in Japan or the Maasai in Tanzania—
are not people you casually encounter in everyday life, and in some places, just getting there to meet them can be risky.

In those kinds of situations, she has them wear their traditional attire and photographs them standing like “heroes.”

Just imagining the idea, the drive, the communication skills it takes to do that…
All I could think was, “This is incredible.”

From the perspective of an ordinary fellow like me, her vision, her boldness in action, and her ability to connect with people
feel completely off the charts.

It truly is a body of work that occupies a very unique, almost otherworldly position.

What I thought would be a 30-minute visit turned into about two and a half hours of being totally immersed in that world.

It reminded me once again that you don’t encounter opportunities like this unless you actually go out into the world.
At the same time, I felt very grateful for the connection with Mr. I, who told me about the exhibition, and for the timing that made it all possible.

※ Yoshida Nagi Photo Exhibition “HEROES -RELOADED-” is currently being held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Ueno, Tokyo, until the 27th of this month.

If reading this makes you think, “I’d like to see that,” you’re absolutely right — you should definitely go.

※ Photography was allowed and they even encouraged sharing the images, so I’ve posted some of them here.