North Point

Hiroyasu Nakai
North Point

Photographs: Hiroyasu Nakai

Text: Daido Moriyama

Publisher: Roshin books

96 pages

Pictures: 72

Year: 2016

Price: 70 €

Comments: Illustrated hardcover, 26,5 x 18 cm, b&w photographs. Edition of 700 copies. Cover in good condition, soiling and marks. Inside in very good condition. OUT OF PRINT

Shuji Terayama Museum is pleased to host a joint exhibition by photographers Daido Moriyama Hiroyasu Nakai from April 4 to September 25, 2016. After the sudden death of Nakai in February, 2016, Moriyama, a friend of Nakai's for over 40 years, carefully selected photographs from approximately 500 of Nakai's original prints. “North Point” is the result of this edit.

Hiroyasu Nakai was born in Hachinohe City, Aomori in 1955. He participated in Eikoh Hosoe's WORKSHOP photo school in 1976. Upon graduation, he began a new chapter in his life as a photographer and became a member of CAMP, an artist-run photo group and gallery headed by Moriyama. After he left CAMP, he independently established a photo gallery Hokuten (North Point) in his hometown in 1988, and began exhibition his own work in a series of exhibitions. “North Point” features photos taken in Hachinoche City during Nakai's time there.

Regarding Nakai's pictures Moriyama has said that they are “neither honest reporting nor his love for his hometown. The photographer Hiroyuki Nakai integrated himself into his environment with a deep understanding.” Nakai's perspectives of Hachinohe City are expressed in the publication of “North Point”, published by Roshin books with the assistance of Satoshi Machiguchi, a Japanese art director. “North Point” will surely be regarded as a historically important contribution to the world of photography.

— From publisher

"North Point" is a selection of 72 photographs of Hachinohe City in Northern Japan, chosen by Daido Moriyama from over 500 shots left behind by his friend, the photographer Hiroyasu Nakai. Nakai, who was born in Hachinohe, started working as a photographer after graduating from Eikoh Hosoe’s photography workshop in 1976. In the late 80s, he established the gallery "Hokuten" (North Point) in his hometown. Commenting on his work, Moriyama described Nakai as a photographer who " integrated himself into his environment with a deep understanding."

"While looking through the prints of my recently passed friend, I was most impressed with the way his camera work proved the astringency of his line of sight. The best of the photographs were, more than anything else, taken in his hometown of Hachinohe.
[…]
Not merely a record of a rustic spirit nor a simple love of a hometown, photographer Hiroyasu Nakai’s pictures work with a wider perspective and deeper field of view. He was truly able to forge a pathway through the cultural landscape and environment of Tohoku."
— from Daido Moriyama’s afterword