Wataru Yamamoto (b. 1986) is a young Japanese photographer who stands out for his experimental technique. Although each of Yamamoto’s projects to date have been executed in quite different ways, they share a common spirit of inquisition. We are accustomed to seeing the work of photographic “hunters,” but Yamamoto is more of a mediator; he sets up certain variables or conditions which determine the content of his images. In a different project, “Drawing a Line,” he took self-portraits in the middle of a forest using an extremely long cable release, which became an important element in the composition of the photograph. This performative quality places Yamamoto quite close to both Japanese and Western experimental photographers of the 1970s.

While many of these earlier experimental photographers produced their work in the studio, under more or less controlled conditions, Yamamoto is particularly interested in observations and representations of nature. This interest is clear in the work he’s presenting at Yumiko Chiba Associates, “Plane Tree Observations.” This project consists of Kirlian photographs, which are produced when a high-voltage electric charge is shot through an object onto photographic paper. Here, Yamamoto has made Kirlian photographs from plane tree leaves, which leave ghostly impressions that reflect their internal composition. This process makes visible the normally invisible variation between individual leaves.

Yamamoto will exhibit these photographs along with drawings related to the project. “Plane Tree Observations” represents an opportunity to see the development of a young photographer who is expanding the range of contemporary Japanese photography.

- Curated by Dan Abbe

Courtesy of Yumiko Chiba Viewing Room