Items Similar to `Harajukugirl with numbers`, Tokyo- `Okurimono`- girl architecture Japan
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5
Christian Houge`Harajukugirl with numbers`, Tokyo- `Okurimono`- girl architecture Japan 2008
2008
About the Item
Okurimono
66 cm. x 200 cm. Edition 6 (+2 ap)
100 cm. x 200 cm. Edition 3 (+1ap) Euro 8,000
Pigment Print
Okurimono (meaning both “gift” and “that which is in-between” in Japanese) - is a word that binds together this comprehensive project developed over five trips to Japan between 2007 and 2018.
The series explores the personal pursuit of identity, at times with an underlying darkness as Houge had the chance to be introduced to Tokyo’s subculture. In exploring this theme, Houge has ventured into delicate matters such as sexuality, longing and gender dysphoria. In this particular series, he uses staging as a method to create a story within a story.
The artist wishes to question the viewer and provoke a reflection on topics that are often seen as taboos in our contemporary societies. The viewer’s own associations are important in appreciating this work where ambiguity plays an important role.
The project started in the Harajuku district of Tokyo which is known as a center of Japanese youth culture and where Houge found some of his first motifs: teenage girls dressing up in post-Victorian dresses or ‘cosplay’ costumes to identify with a character of their favorite comics. Here, the desire to express one’s uniqueness is central and the photographer explores the tension between personal identity and aesthetics shared by all (or at least by the same youth group).
In many of his carefully staged photographs, Houge’s models are masked, so as to echo the many social masks we wear in our day-to-day lives. In our post-modern information society, drained of wonder, these enigmatic masked characters also evoke the world of shamans and pagan rituals, therefore injecting a sense of mystery and spirituality that many people are longing for.
Symbolism and the many references to ritual and identity in an otherwise suppressed society, may at times create a sense of unease among viewers. The Okurimono project also explores the topic of identity and sexuality in gender dysphoria with Japan’s nyūhāfu (the transsexual ‘new halfs’). Here, the quest for identity coincides with a search of femininity and body image which results in complex physical transformations. Viewers may look at these portraits not having any clue that models are nyūhāfu. Yet, the photographs are staged so that viewers are placed in a disconcerting voyeuristic role while looking at otherwise closed world.
Shibari (the art of tying), which originates from the Edo period (1600s), is another territory explored by Houge in his Okurimono series. His striking photographs of female models tied with red rope on a white background take us into this powerful journey into vulnerability and surrender, power and freedom.
Through tradition, symbolism and technology, Okurimono also explores the hugely potent symbols that help define parts of Japanese culture and national identity, between old and new. As Art historian Erling Bugge put it: “Christian Houge guides us into a mystery. It resides between the ritualized shapes of the traditional and withdrawn Zen garden in Kyoto and the equally ritualized spaces of futuristic, urban Tokyo. For a westerner, Japan might look familiar, since what is held up for us looks like a futuristic spectacle somehow grounded in a western imagination. This judgment, however, is too easy. In Houge’s photographs, the sense of sameness withdraws and a very different feeling of strangeness creeps up on us. In fact, what this series registers is a remarkable place of alterity in today’s global order, a radical difference bang in the middle of the familiar.”
The images of the Okurimono series share a ghostly, otherworldly quality. In reality and dream, ritual and play merge while the boundaries between the known and the unknown dissolve.
Christian Houge – Now – Okurimono
Christian Houge guides us into a mystery. It resides between the ritualized shapes of the traditional and withdrawn Zen garden in Kyoto and the equally ritualized spaces of futuristic, urban Tokyo. For a westerner, Japan might look familiar, since what is held up for us looks like a futuristic spectacle somehow grounded in a western imagination. This judgment, however, is too easy. In Houge’s photographs, the sense of sameness withdraws and a very different feeling of strangeness creeps up on us. In fact, what this series registers is a remarkable place of alterity in today’s global order, a radical difference bang in the middle of the familiar.
This is pushed to the limit in the technological and virtual wonderland of Akihabara in Tokyo, where shop after shop trade in electronic products and computer games, while a weird costume play, “cosplay”, is being performed in streets. A similar kind of simulation is being acted out in the district of Harajuku, where Houge found some of his motifs. There is no authenticity here, no western “essence” or “reality”; instead, the virtual conquers the carnal body in a purified play of surface, image and the hyperreal. This is exotic. All the while as we are conscious of these notions as pinnacle points in a western idea of the post-modern. But in this sense Japan has always been “post-modern”. It has always integrated the most refined culture and technology from the outside while somehow retained an identity for itself. So, what would this identity be? Houge takes the view of ritual and play. Indeed, Japanese culture seems to be grounded solely on ritual, in business and in sex, in its relation to nature and in religion.
This play transcends the notion of authenticity altogether, unlike the West which is haunted by the “ghost” of origin and beginnings. In Japan, “now” would mean just that; it is a “no looking back”, but rather a flow of intensities integrated in the play and ritual of the ever-present, okurimono. There is no threat of being eaten up by western culture and technology here, for, like in Zen practice, the ritual oversees everything and has no historical drag. Japan becomes weightless, shot into orbit outside the material of earth itself.
Is acting out the role as Lewis Caroll’s Victorian girl driven by a sense of nostalgia? I think not. It is a striving for a moment of perfected presence, in dialogue with Houge’s optical machine. It is the moment of Now. The girl, the Zen garden and the image shares in a perfection modified by small uncertainties, coincidental imperfections that become somewhat oblique points of entry for us - a discarded handkerchief or seemingly unremarkable shapes and reflections in the prismatic play of surfaces.
There is a ghostly, otherworldly quality in these images, even in the fleeting blossoming cherrytree and the play of shadows across a concrete minimalism. The doubly exposed or reflected light on the lens reminds us of the uncertain beginnings in photography’s history, with its widespread belief that the camera was able to perceive more than the naked eye, like spirits and ghosts. In Houge’s images there are different specters, skeletal, natural shapes on the one hand, the machine and the virtual on the other. Here, like some scene from the film Blade Runner, there is an uncanny confusion and mix between the human and non human.
Maybe the search for a perfect moment in the perpetual flow of things is a romantic or melancholic longing for transcendent wholeness, a drive that is harnessed in a rigorous attention to visual detail. This compulsive discipline might seem absurd to any western observer, while longing itself form a common ground and will ultimately be the basis in our meeting.
Erling Bugge
Bio:
Christian Houge (born in Oslo 1972)
Based in Oslo, Norway, I have been making photographs for over twenty years and new insights continue to open. By exploring the relation, and conflict, between Nature and culture, I get a better understanding about Mans` condition.
I am interested in the consequences of Humankinds progression and how science often is the result of our conquering of Nature, both on Earth and beyond.
Mans` ego, consumer society, the last remnants of pure Nature and identity are recurring elements in my work. I often juxtapose the visually aesthetic with an underlying uneasiness. This often emanates a cognitive dissonance in the viewer to invite deeper truths and personal references.
Looking at our actions and place in environment, which we are so dependent on, is a recurring theme in all my exploration and can use everything from digital cameras to large format and panoramic analog cameras for specific projects.
I have exhibited extensively in galleries and museums in my native country Norway, as well as the US, England, France and China.
The series `Death of a Mountain`(2016-2021) is nominated for the 2021 Leica Oskar Barnack Award, as well as receiving an arts grant from Norwegian Arts Council.
Most recently, my series `Residence of Impermanence` 2017-2019 has been exhibited at five museums and several galleries already (including a solo show at Fotografiska, Stockholm (2019), and Les Recontres d`Arles, Haugar Artmuseum, Preus Muaeum of Photography and 2019 (Galerie Omnius, Arles).
In 2021, this series received ten nominations for the Prix Pictet Award with the theme FIRE.
`Residence of Impermanence` is currently exhibited at the UCR: California Museum of Photography in Los Angeles with the exhibition `Facing Fire,` Art, Wildfire and The End of Nature in the New West.`
This exhibition explores the ever-worsening forest fires due to climate change.
In 2005, my series `Arctic Technology`, was shortlisted for the BMW Prize at Paris Photo (Scout Gallery, London). In 2015, my series `Paradise Lost`(containing three of my main environmental series) toured between three large museums in China.
My other environmental work has been nominated for the annual Prix Pictet Award twice, with my series, `Barentsburg` and `Shadow Within`, for both Earth and Power themes.
In 2005, my series `Arctic Technology` was shortlisted for the BMW Prize at Paris photo (through Scout Gallery, London).
My work has been shown in numerous museums, including a symposium at Johnson Museum, N.Y., was included in traveling exhibitions with WHATCOM (Museum of Washington) with the exhibition `Vanishing Ice`, as well as a two-year museum tour in China environmental issues with Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing and the Norwegian Embassy.
Publications/books include `Vanishing Ice`and `Altered Landscape` (Nevada Museum of Art), including purchased work for their collection at Center for Art and Environment.
Selected exhibitions CV:
Christian Houge (born in Oslo 1972) - Curriculum Vitae
2021
`As far as my Eye can Sea – The Expedition Exhibition`
Rev Ocean, Bomuldsfabrikken Kunsthall, Arendal
`Facing Fire`, Collaborative, UCR ARTS:California Museum of Photography
Continuation
`Death of a Mountain`/ In;Human Nature`, Buer Gallery, Oslo
2020
`Facing Fire`, Collaborative, UCR ARTS:California Museum of Photography
2019
`Metafysica`, `Residence of Impermanence`,collaborative, Haugar Kunstmuseum, Vestfold
`Residence of Impermanence`, Fotografiska Museum, Stockholm. Solo
`Helt Dyrisk` Residence of Impermanence`, collaborative, Preus Museum, Horten
`Residence of Impermanence`, Galleri Fineart, Oslo. Solo
2017
`Shadow Within/Rituals` Gulden Kunstverk, Drammen. Solo
Commission, MAAEMO restaurant. `In;Human Nature`
`Mirror,Mirror` Hosfelt Gallery, San.Fran. Collaborative w/Ed Ruscha, Adam Fuss, Liliana Porter
2016
`In;Human Nature`, TM51 Gallery, Oslo. Solo
Fotofever/ParisPhoto, Louvre, Paris
Cornette de Saint Cyr, Auction, Paris
2015
Three Shadows Photography Art Center, Beijing, China. `Paradise Lost` .
`Arctic Technology/Barentsburg`/ Shadow Within. Solo
Fotofever (ParisPhoto), Artistics Art Gallery, Paris. Collaborative
How Art Museum, Wenzhou, China. `Paradise Lost`
Arctic Technology/Barentsburg/Shadow Within. Solo
Redtory, Guangzhou, China. `Paradise Lost`
Arctic Technology/Barentsburg/Shadow Within. Solo
2014
Fineart Gallery, Oslo `Shadow Within` 2010-2013 / `Darkness Burns Bright` 2013/2014. Solo
Beyond Earth Art • (contemporary artists and the environment)
Johnson Museum of Art, New York. Shadow Within. Collaborative
(incl. Olafur Eliasson, Edward Burtynsky, Mathew Brandt, Yun-Fei Ji amongst others)
The El Paso Museum of Art, Texas. `Arctic Technology`. Collaborative
Glenbow Museum, Alberta. `Arctic Technology`. Collaborative
LIFF (Lofoten International Photofestival)
`Shadow Within` w/speaking. Solo
2013
Nominated for the Prix Pictet Award/ `Shadow Within`.
Hosfelt Gallery, San.Fran. USA. `Shadow Within`. Solo
Accompanied by Call of the Wild`( Joseph Beuys, Ed Ruscha, Patricia Piccinini and Alan Rath)
Carnegie, Oslo, Arctic Technology` series. Commission.
`Vanishing Ice` Tour, USA/Canada, Whatcom Museum 2013-2015.
Publication `Vanishing Ice`, Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art, 1775-2012
Author: Barbara Matilsky.
Altered Landscapes: Photographs of a changing environment (Impact of human activity on natural landscapes)
by Ann M. Wolfe. Rizzoli Publications.
2012
Vanishing Ice, Whatcom (Museum of Washington), USA, 2012.
`Arctic Technology`. Collaborative
Public speaking, Ambassadors residence, London. `Shadow Within`.
2010
Akershus Kunstsenter, Oslo. `Arctic Technology`. Collaborative
`In full color`, Hosfelt Gallery, New York.
Arctic Technology/ Barentsburg. Collaborative
2009
Nominated for the Prix Pictet Award with the series `Barentsburg`.
Hosfelt Gallery, San. Fran, `Arctic technology/Barentsburg`. Solo
AntArctica, Haugar Kunstmuseum. Collaberative
`The coldest winter`, Hosfelt Gallery, San. Fran. Collaborative
2008
`Arctic technology` Hosfelt Gallery, New York, USA, Solo
Gardemoen Airport,10-year Anniversary Oslo. Public(Arctic Technology)
Oslo Sentral Station/Rom for Kunst, Oslo. Public (Arctic Technology)
2007
ArtBasel/Scout Gallery,London, Miami. Collaborative
PhotoLondon Fair, Zebra Gallery London. Collaborative
Annual Grants exhibition Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo. Collaborative
Annual grants exhibition Fotogalleriet, Oslo. Collaborative
Defence Ministry H.Q. Oslo. Commission(Arctic Technology)
2006
Sotheby's London. Collaborative auction
Zebra One, London. Collaberative
Annual Grants exhibition, Oslo. Collaborative
Defence Ministry H.Q. `Arctic Technology. Oslo. Commission
2005
Scout Gallery, London. `Arctic Technology`, Solo
BMW Awards, Paris Photo. `Arctic Technology`. Collaborative
Paris Photo, Louvre, Paris, Scout Gallery (London). Collaborative
Arctic Technology/ Barentsburg
PhotoLondon Fair (Scout Gallery, London). Collaborative
2003
Annual grants exhibition, Kunstnerenes Hus, Oslo. Collaborative
Økokrim, Oslo, Commission. Public
Eiendommspar, Oslo. Commission. Public
2002
Autumn grants exhibition, Kunstnernes hus, Oslo. Collaborative
- Creator:Christian Houge (1972, Norwegian)
- Creation Year:2008
- Dimensions:Height: 25.99 in (66 cm)Width: 78.75 in (200 cm)
- More Editions & Sizes:100 x 300 cm. Edition 3 +1Price: $8,744
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Oslo, NO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU160028668792
About the Seller
No Reviews Yet
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 2000
1stDibs seller since 2021
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Oslo, Norway
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- `Lion` Oslo, - `Residence of Impermanence` . Signed. animal lion fire natureBy Christian HougeLocated in Oslo, NOAll available sizes & editions for each size of this photograph: 90 cm. x 120 cm. Edition 7 126 cm. x 170 cm. Edition 7 `Residence of Impermanence` 2017-2019 My performance series, `Residence of Impermanence`, explores our relationship to animals, fire and Nature. Through the element of fire, I have found a way to express myself in totemic ritualistic performance by burning decaying trophy animals. The element of fire is very symbolic. It represents both destruction and creation. Animals and fire have, in many ways, formed our culture since the dawn of Mankind. They have also served as essential symbols in myth, spirituality, art and religion. Fire has protected us and given us hope. Given us a means to evolve in all culture. In Greek mythology, remember Prometheus. In the hand of Man, fire can be anything. It is our ethics that define it. We have always mirrored ourselves in Nature. What we see staring back at us may not be the image we were hoping for. This series is a reminder to where we have come regarding our relation to Nature and the huge effects of climatechange in the Anthropocene. My work often juxtaposes the visually aesthetic and uneasiness. An underlying feeling of that which is lost often plays an important role. I like to explore work themes that emanate a cognitive dissonance in the viewer to reveal more profound truths. I regard trophy animals as symbols of Man´s vanity and presumed victory over Nature. To me, they also serve as symbols of our general attitude towards Nature. The flames gives each animal a last breath of life as it creates a new portrait. The animal is set free again, ending a symbolic circle of life. A closure if you will, both physically and existentially. The English-inspired wallpapers represent imperialism and a colonial idea from a time when we were obsessed by conquering Nature and other lands. These too are burned with the animals symbolizing a protest toward our autocracy towards Nature itself. The repetitive performance of burning each animal serves as both an offering and a liberation. This is a violent act, but also a meaningful and beautiful act to me. The animals` personality changes dramatically throughout the burning process. This cannot be planned and therefore the animals give off a sense of further individuality. In the process of burning animals, I am also taking an object of desire off the market for further sales. An act that hopefully will spark dialog our use of Nature, as well as where we want to be heading in the near future. Dialog foments change and action. I spent seven years collecting old trophy animals and taxidermy of different sorts. Many were bought through auctions, while others were given to me by hunters` or the widows of hunters for this specific project. During the following three years, I went through a somewhat cathartic process of burning and obsessively exploring the symbolism of fire and our relation to animals with my performance. The intention with my series is to connect the public to the crucial matters at hand through something tangible, personal, and symbolic. These three years of working with this series has made me so much more conscious of how delicate nature is and how we have taken it for granted for too long. A reminder of how crucial both animals, fire and nature, for our so-called progress in survival and progress. Through this process, exploring new questions and inviting a larger audience to ask their own crucial questions in the massive global changes we all are witnessing, is what I strive for. Loss of animal diversity, poaching and massive forest fires are increasing so rapidly that Nature itself is at a major turning point. A call for action is needed. Working so close to the animals in my project has been as uplifting as it has been obsessive and heartbreaking, as the animal's eye connects with you on a personal level as a human does in non-verbal communication. In 2016, the government in Kenya burned poached ivory worth an estimated 130 million dollars, making a clear statement that these tusks should only belong to a living animal. This dramatic action created meaningful dialog around the world beyond news and statistics. Fires are destroying critical areas of much-needed land vegetation, thus creating considerable effects on climate change. The meeting between Nature`s fragility and Mans` ego has shown that forests disappear, glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and species become extinct. Humans have too easily exploited all parts of nature with our own culture and growth. In this short process, we have lost the very essence of what we are a part, and thus forget the very nature in ourselves. What can photography do to create questions regarding climate change, and help us move towards a sustainable future? In photography, we can ask important questions about changes in our surroundings and who we are—Man’s condition. Background: `Residence of Impermanence` has been exhibited at five museums and several galleries already (including a big solo show at Fotografiska, Stockholm (2019), and Arles Fotofestival (2019). Work from `Residence of Impermanence' is currently exhibited at the UCR: California Museum of Photography in Los Angeles with the exhibition `Facing Fire,` Art, Wildfire and The End of Nature in the New West.` This exhibition explores the ever-worsening Californian forest fires due to climate change. My previous environmental work has been nominated for the Prix Pictet Award on several occasions with my previous series for both Earth, Power and Fire themes. In 2005, my series `Arctic Technology` was shortlisted for the BMW Prize at Paris photo (through Scout Gallery, London). My other series has been shown in museums, including a symposium at Johnson Museum, N.Y. and been part of travelling exhibitions with WHATCOM (Museum of Washington) with the exhibition `Vanishing Ice` and a China tour on environmental issues with Three Shadows Photography...Category
2010s Color Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
- `Flamingo`, Oslo- `Residence of Impermanence`- bird taxidermy nature animal fireBy Christian HougeLocated in Oslo, NO`Residence of Impermanence` 2017-2019 My performance series, `Residence of Impermanence`, explores our relationship to animals, fire and Nature. Through the element of fire, I hav...Category
2010s Other Art Style Color Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
- `Elk`, Oslo- `Residence of Impermanence` animal elk fire nature wallpaper objectBy Christian HougeLocated in Oslo, NO90 x 120 cm Edition 7 `Residence of Impermanence` 2017-2019 My performance series, `Residence of Impermanence`, explores our relationship to animals, fire and Nature. Through the...Category
2010s Color Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
- `Elk Burnt`, Oslo- `Residence of Impermanence` animal elk fire nature wallpaperBy Christian HougeLocated in Oslo, NO90 x 120 cm Edition 7 `Residence of Impermanence` 2017-2019 My performance series, `Residence of Impermanence`, explores our relationship to animals, fire and Nature. Through the...Category
2010s Other Art Style Color Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
- `Polar Bear`, Oslo- `Residence of Impermanence` animal nature polar bear fireBy Christian HougeLocated in Oslo, NO`Residence of Impermanence` 2017-2019 My performance series, `Residence of Impermanence`, explores our relationship to animals, fire and Nature. Through the element of fire, I hav...Category
2010s Other Art Style Color Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
- `Swan in Flight`, Oslo- `Residence of Impermanence` -animal nature flight fireBy Christian HougeLocated in Oslo, NO`Residence of Impermanence` 2017-2019 My performance series, `Residence of Impermanence`, explores our relationship to animals, fire and Nature. Through the element of fire, I hav...Category
2010s Other Art Style Color Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
You May Also Like
- PLAGE LEBLON, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRESILLocated in PARIS, FRImpression fine art sur papier mat, tirage réalisé par l'artiste Taille de l'image : 30 x 40 cm Tirage signé, numéroté et titré au verso Non encadré, sans passe-partout Cette photog...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Figurative Photography
MaterialsPigment, Digital Pigment
- AMERICAN PUZZLE, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USALocated in PARIS, FRImpression fine art sur papier baryté, tirage réalisé par l'auteur Taille de l'image : 30 x 40 cm Tirage signé, numéroté et titré au verso Non encadré, sans passe-partout Cette pho...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Figurative Photography
MaterialsPigment, Digital Pigment
- Hong KongLocated in PARIS, FRTirage issu du dernier ouvrage de Jean-Christophe Béchet, Macadam Color Street Photo (Éditions Loco, 2022). "Grand spécialiste de la photographie de rue, Jean-Christophe Béchet ras...Category
2010s Figurative Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
- MACADAM COLOR, LA HAVANE, CUBA, 2018Located in PARIS, FRImpression fine art sur papier baryté, tirage réalisé par l'auteur Taille de l'image : 30 x 40 cm Tirage signé, numéroté et titré au verso Non encadré, sans passe-partout Cette phot...Category
2010s Figurative Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment, Pigment
- Eureka, USALocated in PARIS, FRPhotographie tirée du carnet "Eureka USA" de Jean-Christophe Béchet (2018, 48 pages, 36 photos couleur éditions Trans Photographic Press). "Près de mille kilomètres (939 km pour êtr...Category
2010s Figurative Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
- A Day at the BeachBy Dale JohnsonLocated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CASigned, stamped, dated and number on back of print. Prices subject to change so please contact gallery.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Color Photography
MaterialsDigital Pigment
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
French Country Architectural
Blue Numbers
Uniquities Architectural Models
Costume Play
Japanese Small Blue
Japanese Auction
Architectural Dress
Victorian Japanese
Blue White Japanese China
French Rope Art
Zen Garden
Naked Japanese
Japanese Christian
Edo Blue
Edo Japanese Blue
Chinese Christian
Victorian Dressing Mirror
Japanese Ice