Mt Fuji
Photographs by Chris Steele-Perkins
Hokusai's 36 Views of Mount Fuji showed the daily life of 19th century Japan against the backdrop of a potent national symbol. Chris Steele-Perkins' photographs re-interpret this juxtaposition for a new century: the mountain timeless and unchanging, the life in the foreground unrecognisably different.
Exhibition toured by mac and Magnum Photos.
“at once a social commentary, a homage to Hokusai and an ironic essay on modernity.....this mixture creates the attractively tart flavour of the collection - sweet and sour blended with a light skill that prevents it being bitter” Japan Times
“the strange and wonderful thing about Steele-Perkins’ Fuji is how elusive the mountain is in his photographs even as it is a constant....while Fuji is nominally about a mountain it is actually as much about the human enterprise that surrounds Mt Fuji...people are everywhere in Fuji as Steele-Perkins intended” British Journal of Photography
“Rather than recreating classic Hokusai scenes, he has captured today’s classic scenes; football, theme-parks and heavy industry. If Houksai were to pick up a camera today this is the body of work he may produce.” Foto8
“he offers a fresh and surprising view of this iconic mountain and a meditation on modern Japan and Japanese Life.” Leica View
“Steele-Perkins’ photographs have an exquisite balance that suggests a deliberate - almost painterly – approach” Metro
Mt Fuji finished on: 13 September 2003
