Where is the horizon? Sugimoto turns our visual habits upside down

The Japanese photo artist’s most recent series

It is one of the paradoxes of the medium of photography that the viewer constantly shifts back and forth between perception related to the motif of the image and aesthetic observation. Hiroshi Sugimoto, one of the most eminent artists of our time, has reflected upon the different aspects of the medium in a way that almost no one else has, making them visible in his striking series of photographs, in which, as a rule, he generally places a subject at the center. Dioramas are followed by cinemas, seascapes, chambers of horror, architectural photos, portraits, pine trees, conceptual shapes, and other motifs.

This is the first volume to present a group of works that the artist has been working on for a long time. Under the title of Revolution, nighttime seascapes are presented in large format, capturing the course of the moon over a longer period of time. The special way the pictures are exhibited—the images are turned ninety degrees—creates disturbing impressions that, depending on the region of the world and the latitude, exhibit clear distinctions.