Posted on
2014-11-24
Capturing large-scale dioramas inside natural history museums, Sugimoto’s photographs initially seem to be documents of the natural world, featuring far-flung landscapes and wildlife. Sugimoto, however, dwells in the artifice of the images. Composed in crisp black and white and sharp tones, the pristine quality and stillness of these large-scale pieces reveal the inherent artificiality of the constructed worlds contained within their frames.
Surveying his Diorama series, the exhibition highlights recurring themes and images that have sustained Sugimoto’s interest and work for almost four decades. Some of the works on view from 1980 were recently printed for the first time, and some images from 1974 and 1994 are exhibited in larger sizes than their initial printings.
The earliest works on view in the exhibition are dated to 1976, when Sugimoto first moved to New York and visited the American Museum of Natural History. “The first time I saw a diorama I was overwhelmed by the fragility of existence that it captured. Being models of nature, dioramas include many of the world’s constituent parts,” Sugimoto wrote. “The only thing absent is life itself. Time comes to a halt and never-ending stillness reigns.” The works both breathe new life into the natural scenes, conjuring a false sense of reality, while highlighting their lifelessness.
Opposite – Olympic Rainforest, 2012
Exhibition runs through to January 24th, 2015
Pace Gallery
6 Burlington Gardens
London
W1S 3ET
www.pacegallery.com
