Travel Tip: Art and Archaeology in Russia
Crown on the Earth: Contemporary Photography from Japan

The exhibition of contemporary Japanese photography Crown on the Earth embraces the works of the authors awarded Japan Newcomer Award in the annual competition of the Photography Society of Japan. All these artists belong to the generation that started their way in art photography in the 1990s.

The exhibition starts with Portrait of Our Face series by Ken Kitano representing images of the people of different professions and social groups. With each photograph made by overlaying multiple negatives, Kitano creates works that contain portraits of many people, generalized, collective portraits possessing both the individual and the common. This photographic cycle reflects the author's vision of globalization.

Sato Shintaro's series Tokyo Twilight Zone takes us to the capital of Japan. All of the images were made within the short time period just after the sunset, when the night is approaching. The use of long exposure during the shooting allows Sato to create mystical images where the city space seems deserted, people are dissolved and disappear, and all that remains from the stream of cars is hardly recognizable trace.

Takayuki Maekawa photographs wild animals of Canada, Alaska and Japan. "It is absolutely clear, — he says, — that we should learn to live side by side on our Planet, the clot of dust rushing across the Universe".