Masahisa Fukase, Solitude of Ravens, Michael Hoppen Gallery, London
Regarded by many as the most important body of work to come out of post-war Japan, Fukase’s Karasu (‘Ravens’) was made between 1975-82 in the wake of the artist’s divorce. The recurrent presence of ravens sets the ominous tone, and appear dead or alive, alone or in flocks, interjected with other subjects such as blizzard-streaked streets or the form of a nude masseuse. Inherently abstract, the project has been further interpreted as a commentary upon Japan’s defeat in the Second World War, but the photographs always speak of a deep personal lament infused with loneliness and introspection.
