PHOTOGRAPHY ZINES AND BOOKS NO: 75

AKUGARE BY TATSUO SUZUKI & YOHEI ‘JESUS’ ASAI

Who?

Tatsuo Suzuki, is a previous visual interviewee & Void Tokyo founder. He is quite known amongst street photography circles as is his collective that hold various events in Tokyo from photo walks to exhibitions. I picked this up and his most recent group show at Totem Pole Gallery in Shinjuku.

And! Yohei ‘Jesus’ Asai is from the Japanese indie rock band Akogare. Suzuki and the band have been collaborating for sometime now and is the entry point for this zine…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What?

Akugare is the latest collaborative project from Suzuki who provides the photography and Jesus providing a poem at the beginning, shot by Suzuki. I went ahead in translated:

“Away from where I am” If we cut off a lot of light, the scenery will stop How many words must I use to make my wish into a prayer? How much can we weaken the silence? Which struggle will bring Hiraho? The moment is waiting in a daze, on the cross. When I see my self-portrait reflected in the window frame, the sea becomes water with the force of a single wave, my tears return to my feelings, and I scatter like raindrops. Here, the promises flow backwards.

Now, the promises and promises are shifting. Whoever I am, I’m not at ease. Wherever I am, I can’t feel at ease. I was completely captivated by the seashore. When you see it as it is, the firewood you see is fragile and crumbles away. Politics is only a test, and the tip of the pen strangles time. Dance madly into the land The colors I once painted, the words I once spoke in hiragana Filling in the blanks, beyond the skin, pure white death and a girl I look up and bask in the cloudy sky. light pink Before I knew it, I was on the street.”

Tatsuo’s photography then reflects this sentiment alternating between performance shots of the band, model shoots, and atmospheric serenely empty street photos. They are all in black and white, his surely by now signature style. It then serves to metaphor the music both driven by emotion which brings with it a harmony between chaos and serenity (haha if you Google his name the first hit is what is Tatsuo Suzuki’s unique style).

Why?

Collaboration is always fun, and in the vein of his some of recent group shows that revolve around the love of music, it makes sense to collaborate with a like-minded band. Often for the shows, there will be an accompanying photo show in the venue by Suzuki, and his photos end up as T-shirts… rock merchandise for the band.

The overwhelming sentiment from the collaboration is really just that of joy and just seems to be a lot of fun. Really what a band or being a photographer or any art form should be about.

Where?

So this is a bit of unique roll out. This was a apart of an in-person presale for a poetry reading event/ photo exhibition where the zine will be launched at in Tokyo 11/25/25. This is published through Chee Power Books, so between their instagram Tatsuo & Jesus’s Instagrams (above) details will come soon!

Each copy comes with an NFC tag keychain featuring a photo from the book with links to all coming relevant information. In the meantime remember you can always check out his other books here for outside of Japan and here for Japan. And the band’s music can be heard here through streaming sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks to our guest for his submission, it is a really cool thing to be able to share zines with you all. And remember, this is open to everyone. If you would like to have your zines or books featured then all you have to do is mail me. Hopefully there will be plenty more of you who want to get your books and zines out there to the world. Another installment will be coming soon.

Thanks,

JCH