Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine

Overview

This comprehensive survey of half a century of creative endeavour is the most complete exhibition of visionary photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto's work ever assembled. Through decades of experimentation and exploration, this show reveals the myriad ways Sugimoto's images have questioned the duality of photography to both faithfully document reality and conjure new truths, as well as the ways in which captured images confront and embrace the ephemeral nature of human experience.

Sugimoto has called his work "time exposed" and even the technical aspects of his craft play notions of history and existence. He is known for using a large-format camera and developing his own darkroom chemicals, which contribute to his singular style, and his fascination with 19th-century methodologies and arcane photography techniques adds yet another layer of intrigue to his whimsical compositions.

His subjects range from dioramas and wax figures to architectural forms, creating images that challenge and redefine fundamental notions of time, space and light. Discovering Sugimoto's work in a curated gallery space heightens their power further — these are photographs that require room to breathe. According to the man himself, "There is no decisive moment in my photograph, only the melting of time." So make sure you spend the time to take in a life's work that prove time machines may exist after all.

Images: Hiroshi Sugimoto