134. TAKAY: A SPACE BETWEEN SUSPENDING AND FALLING.
‘Tesseract’, Akio Nagasawa Gallery, Paris Photo.
©︎ TAKAY courtesy of Akio Nagasawa Gallery.
‘I photographed pole dancers — subjects that appear almost suspended in mid air from multiple angles, and experimented with distortion, layering, and collage.’ TAKAY.
Please can you introduce your series of images presented at Photo Paris?
These works are from the Cube series within my project titled “Tesseract,” which I presented in 2025.
When I saw your series at Photo Paris, I was really drawn to the atmosphere, the sense of ambiguity within the forms and within the media... a visual collage, as the shadows float over objects combined with silhouettes of figures. Please can you discuss the atmosphere of this series?
These works are part of a series titled “Tesseract,” in which the regular 16-cell (octachoron) is experimentally expressed through the human body. Before arriving at this cube series, I produced works using various experimental approaches. I photographed pole dancers—subjects that appear almost suspended in mid air from multiple angles, and experimented with distortion, layering, and collage. All of these explorations were compiled into a single photobook, which I published last year.
What do the different cities that you work in teach you?
I have lived in London in my twenties, New York in my mid-thirties, and Tokyo in my late forties. Perhaps partly due to age, but in London, I was deeply influenced by 1990s UK culture and studied edgy fashion photography and visual culture. In New York, I learned the business side of working in the fashion photography industry. In Tokyo, I now apply these experiences to balance both creative practice and business.
What does black and white mean to you?
For me, black-and-white photography was the first form of photography I learned. I believe that by reducing a subject to tonal gradations of white, gray, and black, monochrome photography allows the subject to be expressed more powerfully and with greater emphasis.
What do you feel your work as a whole represents?
I don’t really know. Perhaps that is why I try to express something through photography. I am never truly satisfied.
©︎ TAKAY courtesy of Akio Nagasawa Gallery.
With thanks to Joomin Oh, Akio Nagasawa Gallery.