Land of Technology

"CYBERPUNK CITY: REFRAMING TOKYO AS A FUTURISTIC WONDERLAND"
I grew up in England, but I was aware of Japan from an early age. I started doing judo and karate when I was 6 years old and I started playing Japanese video games from roughly the same age. My dad was an architect too, so I was always subconsciously interested in buildings and cities. He had a Canon AE-1 SLR camera which I was fascinated by and I remember that “Made in Japan” was inscribed on it. Lots of the other electronic gadgets of my childhood were also from Japan. Products such as Nintendo Gameboy, Sega Megadrive, Sony Playstation, Sony Walkman, Casio G-Shock, etc. These high tech products made me believe that Japan was a very futuristic place and this belief was further enhanced when I saw Japanese anime like Gundam and Akira. 
After living in Japan for 10 years, I don’t think that life here is any more futuristic than it is in any other developed country. But in these images, I try to transform Japan into the digital future world that I had imagined it to be - as the Land of Technology.
 イギリスで生まれ育った私は、6歳の頃から柔道を習い始め、日本のテレビゲームにも夢中になりました。

同じ頃、建築家だった父が愛用していた一眼レフカメラには「Made in Japan」の文字が刻まれていて、その響きに惹かれたことをよく覚えています。

他にも任天堂のゲームボーイ、ソニーのプレイステーションにウォークマン、カシオのGショック――身の回りにあった数々の日本製のガジェットが、日本をきわめて未来的な国だと思わせてくれました。

その印象は、『ガンダム』や『AKIRA』といったアニメからも、さらに確かなものになっていきました。
 

 日本で暮らすようになった今、日本が他の先進国より格段に未来的ではないことを私は知っています。

それでも、幼い頃に憧れた日本製のガジェットを彷彿とさせる建築たちを夜の東京に見出し、少年時代に思い描いていた「テクノロジーの国・日本」という幻想を描き出そうと思ったのです。​​​​​​​
Land of Technology @ Light House, Nagano
Land of Technology @ Light House, Nagano
Land of Technology @ Light House, Nagano
Land of Technology @ Light House, Nagano
Land of Technology @ Light House, Nagano
Land of Technology @ Light House, Nagano
Land of Technology @ Konca Minolta Plaza, Tokyo
Land of Technology @ Konca Minolta Plaza, Tokyo
Land of Technology @ Konca Minolta Plaza, Tokyo
Land of Technology @ Konca Minolta Plaza, Tokyo
Land of Technology @ Konca Minolta Plaza, Tokyo
Land of Technology @ Konca Minolta Plaza, Tokyo
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