Hiroshi Watanabe: “Ideology in Paradise” and David Fokos
Until August 22, 2009
The Kopeikin Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Japanese born and Los Angeles based photographer Hiroshi Watanabe titled “Ideology in Paradise,” also the title of Watanabe’s recently published book. Widely exhibited internationally, this is Watanabe’s first solo exhibition at the gallery.
Although his past work has been exclusively in black and white, the artist uses color in this project to explore his fascination with North Korea and attempts to Telephone: the viewer an unbiased story of their culture and everyday life. From 2006 – 2007 Watanabe made trips to North Korea to investigate the myths that were spoken as fact in his native Japan. North Korea was described only as a country that kidnapped Japanese, allowed police to brutalize their citizens, and left the poor to die of starvation on the streets.Travel Tea Sets
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Unconvinced by this one-sided perspective of North Koreans, he wanted to investigate for himself. During his time in North Korea, he let curiosity guide him and allowed the process to unfold organically without imposing any agenda. These images are rich in both content and aesthetics, giving the viewer a window into a moment in time, captured with a genuine respect that is visible throughout the series.
Also showing is new and excellent work from David Fokos, who uses long exposures to Ôaverage timeÕ in order to examine and decipher the mechanisms of human perception.
- Kopeikin Gallery is located at 8810 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90068.
- Telephone: (310) 385-5894
- Website: http://www.kopeikingallery.com
- Gallery’s summer hours are Wednesday-Saturday from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.. It is free and open to the public.
Kopeikin Gallery is available for private functions, private showings, and film locations rental. For information and prices for renting the gallery, please email caryn@kopeikingallery.com
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