JAPANESE AVANT-GARDE PIONEERS

Featuring Araki Nobuyoshi, Moriyama Daidō, Hosoe Eikoh, Ishiuchi Miyako, Tanaami Keiichi, Yokoo Tadanori, Mishima Yukio, Hijikata Tatsumi, Ohno Kazuo, Terayama Shūji, Tenjō Sajiki, Kawada Kikuji, Neo-Dada Organizers, Hi-Red Center, Awazu Kiyoshi, Hanaga Mitsutoshi, Enomoto Ryoichi, Nakahira Takuma, Tanabe Santaro, Sasame Hiroyuki, Mizohata Toshio, Morishita Takashi, Lena Fritsch, Alexandra Munroe, Lucy Fleming-Brown, Peter Tasker, Master K.

The postwar era in Japan was a time of profound social change, political unrest and student protests. These turbulent times led to an artistic explosion with the emergence of a new scene of avant-garde artists: underground theater, experimental and erotic photography, surreal and psychedelic illustrations, dark and disembodied Butoh dance.

Provoke magazine and Moriyama Daidō introduce a new aesthetic of photography: rough, dark and out of focus. Araki beautifies bondage and Hosoe Eikoh sublimates the male body. Ishiuchi Miyako captures her experience of American military bases. Also experience the magic and surreal films and plays of the master of underground theater Terayama Shūji, the provocative street performances of Neo-Dada Organizers and Hi-Red Center, the psychedelic theater posters of Yokoo Tadanori and Awazu Kioshi, the kaleidoscopic world of Tanaami Keiichi and the dance of darkness of Butoh founders Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo. 

Directed by Amélie Ravalec
Produced by Circle Time Studio
Co-produced by TH3NO3 / Maaserhit Honda

Release date: 2025