'I set up while it was still dark, waited for dawn to approach, and took the photograph just as the first light appeared.' —Eiji Ohashi
With nothing else in the visible distance, a vending machine – a staple of the Japanese landscape – asserts itself, illuminating with a gem-like brilliance. This captivating image by Eiji Ohashi (b. 1955) was taken at dawn following a snowstorm with temperatures dropping below minus 20 degrees Celsius. ‘The machine is standing there completely on its own with no other vending machine nor convenience store to be found anywhere within ten kilometres,’ he describes, ‘but every now and then, a car pulls up and someone buys a drink from it. The vending machine waits there patiently, ready for these moments.’ For his ongoing Roadside Lights series, Ohashi travels around his home country to photograph vending machines, capturing the affective qualities of hope and resilience. The Japanese artist has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Moscow International Foto Awards (2016), photo-eye Best Books (2017) and the Special Photographer Award at the 34th Higashikawa Awards (2018).
過往展覽
After Dark, Sapporo Art Museum, Hokkaidō, 27 February - 11 April 2021, another
文學
E. Ohashi, Roadside Lights Seasons: Winter, Tokyo: Case, 2020, n.p.