Naoya Hatakeyama: Atmos

Naoya Hatakeyama is a leading figure in contemporary Japanese art. The subject of numerous books and exhibitions, Hatakeyama’s previous series such as Lime Works, River and Underground have received international critical acclaim. The photographs in the previously unpublished series Atmos were made in En Camarque, Fos-sure Mer in 2003, and are beautifully represented in this important new artists’ book. Hatakeyama photographed this industrial area from two distinct perspectives: from inside the mill located within the town’s borders, and from the outskirts of the town itself. The former document the terrifying power of machines man builds to produce goods; the latter reveal the dream-like variations in the surrounding landscape: salt fields, calm waters and pastures. The two bodies of work have been bound face to face within a hardcover case, allowing the viewer to create hundreds of double page spreads from the twenty-two reproductions. Hatakeyama’s photographs have been extensively exhibited in the United States, Europe and Japan. He was one of four photographers included in the traveling exhibition “Land of Paradox,” which toured the United States and Japan from 1996 to 1998.