Gerry Johansson (1945, Sweden) is one of Sweden's most renowned photographers. Working predominantly in black and white, he is attracted to the overlooked details of urban space. At IBASHO, we present a selection of photographs from the series "Tokyo" and "Ehime", which the artist made in Japan.

Tokyo, through Johansson's lens, transforms into a serene and structured city, far from the usual noise and active street life. Captured in the spring of 2004, the photographs reduce the sprawlingly modern futuristic metropolis to its essence: sharp lines, geometric forms and patterns, modular architecture. Also published as a photo book, "Tokyo" turns the city's chaos into carefully composed scenes of stillness and abstract architectural harmony, contrasting with elements of nature's wilderness and without the human presence. His approach echoes the style of the 1970s New Topographics movement, led by photographers like Lewis Baltz and Nicholas Nixon, whose black and white photographs transformed urban spaces into rhythmic abstractions.

In 1999, the artist spent four weeks in Matsuyama, located in Japan's Ehime prefecture, south of Hiroshima. The resulting series "hime" is an exploration of the modern Japanese city and examines the influence of traditional cultural symbols, particularly in relation to nature. Johansson focuses on the fundamental elements of Japanese culture - mountains, trees, water - capturing them both in nature, as well as as symbols in contemporary Japan. With this work, the photographer poses the question, "what is Japan today?". Using a large format 8x10 camera, Johansson creates images which reflect on the notion of beauty in the urban Japanese land-scape.

The exhibition "Tokyo/Ehime" will run from 18 January until 9 March 2025. The artist will be present during the vernissage on 18 January from 14:00 - 18:00.

Artists: Gerry Johansson