/23 Japan

Masahisa Fukase

Ravens / Bukubuku

Ravens

Fukase’s ‘Solitude of Ravens’ is revered by many as one of the pinnacles of twentieth century photography. This is the first exhibition in the UK of vintage and early prints from this series of work made in the wake of his divorce with his wife that revolves around the anthropomorphic figure of the raven. All the prints in the exhibition have come directly from Fukase’s private collection and have never before been available to collectors to buy. The exhibition will be showing at the Michael Hoppen Gallery 23rd February – 23rd April.

Bukubuku

The remarkable set of prints, ‘Bukubuku’ (Bubbling) are the last series Fukase completed and exhibited before the debilitating fall which left him in a coma for 20 years and later cost him his life. The series is made up of 79 self-portraits made in the bathtub with a waterproof camera and was first shown outside of Japan by the Michael Hoppen Gallery at Paris Photo in November 2015. Regarded as Fukase’s last great work, Bukubuku has been described as “a whimsical if somewhat morbid game of solitaire that charts new territory for the photographic self-portrait”, a visualisation of madness and death.

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