Nihon Noir

Tom Blachford’s cinematic photographs of Tokyo and Kyoto transport viewers to a futuristic, dystopian dimension, in which perpetual nightfall and neon-spotted cityscapes reign. Using Metabolist and postmodern architectural philosophies, classic neo-noir and sci-fi genre aesthetics, and intense angles reminiscent of sweeping manga illustrations, Blachford captures the alien-like essence of these enigmatic structures and streets. Famed director Nicolas Winding Refn and photographer Paul Tulett contribute grounding texts. Seeing Tokyo for the first time, photographer Tom Blachford felt like he had been transported to a highly-advanced parallel universe. Inspired, he shot photographs for six days straight from 9pm until the sun-up, in the pursuit of a groundbreaking series that communicated the city’s uncanny, alien-like energy. The focal point for Blachford was the architecture of Kenzo Tange, Japan’s Pritzker Prize winning architect and an icon of the Metabolist movement. A 1950s and ‘60s Japanese avant-garde architectural movement, Metabolism combined biological growth and the natural world with technological advancement and architectural ambition. Blachford shot a core list of buildings, first in Tokyo and later in Kyoto, that embodied these philosophies, including a range of 1990s postmodern, futuristic structures to heighten the sense of the unexpected and strange within Nihon Noir. Blachford spectacularly distills the impressiveness and almost otherworldliness of the structures of legendary Japanese architects, including Kisho Kurokawa, Yoji Watanabe, Kiyonori Kikutake, Makoto Sei Watanabe, and Kengo Kuma. Blachford’s cinematic photos reference the hyper-saturated palette of film director (and text contributor) Nicolas Winding Refn and the cyberpunk, “Neon Noir” cityscapes of Blade Runner. Ridley Scott himself was aesthetically inspired by the architecture of Japan——particularly the entertainment district Kabukicho——while creating the cult cinematic masterpiece. Blachford was also inspired by Japanese media, including the unique cyberpunk architecture in anime such as Akira and Ghost In The Shell, prioritizing an electric color palette and emphasizing the purples and pinks of the night over more muted, organic colors. Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer Nicolas Winding Refn contributes an emotional and beautiful text. A contextualizing essay by Master of Urban Planning Paul Tulett serves as a guide to understanding this otherworldly environment.