Ikko Narahara Photographs: The Promised Journey to Spain

Ikko Narahara, who emerged in the late 1950s as a forerunner of new photographic expression in post-war Japan, had set out on a journey across Europe from 1962 to 1965 in hopes to re-visit his way of life and identity as a photographer. The series España Gran Tarde was conceived as a result of his various travels in Spain – a country he had long admired and yearned to visit. This exhibition features a total of 135 black & white photographs consisting of 120 works from the aforementioned series, and a further 15 from the contemporaneous collection Where Time has Stopped. These are introduced along with related documents and materials in an attempt to explore from a new perspective, the fascinating appeal of Narahara’s work during the days of his youth. Also brought into focus on this occasion are his numerous collaborations with Mitsuo Katsui, a leading graphic designer of Japan’s post-war period and long-term friend of Narahara, who had been responsible for designing the publication España Grand Tarde.

*The title of the series España Gran Tarde derives from that which was used in Narahara’s solo exhibition held in 1965. The photo book of this series was subsequently published under the title España Grand Tarde.