A raw and captivating look at the urban soul: Daido Moriyama, a leading figure in Japanese street photography, is on show at Photo Élysée in Lausanne. A freeze-frame retracing a career spanning 60 years, the exhibition offers a unique immersion into the contrasting and poetic world of an artist who has redefined the way we perceive the city and the media. A must-see exhibition for lovers of art and photography.
A witness to Japan in transition
Born in Osaka in 1938, Daido Moriyama grew up in a rapidly changing Japan, marked by the rapid westernisation of the post-war period. His iconic images, often grainy and contrasting, capture the tension between tradition and modernity, chaos and urban poetry. Moriyama doesn’t just photograph streets: he immortalises fragments of life, atmospheres and unspoken stories. He works for magazines and large-circulation publications, and is inspired by American artists such as William Klein, Andy Warhol and Jack Kerouac.
This retrospective, organised by Thyago Nogueira, head of the contemporary photography department at the Instituto Moreira Salles (São Paulo, Brazil), reveals almost 60 years of the photographer’s career, from his beginnings in Japanese magazines to his contributions to the ‘Provoke’ movement. This collective, founded in the 1960s, revolutionised photography by rejecting the classic codes of photojournalism to create a free and subjective visual language.
The beginnings and rise to prominence (1960-1970)
After moving to Tokyo in 1961, Moriyama began publishing photographic series in influential magazines such as Asahi Camera and Camera Mainichi. These early works, hailed for their modernity, quickly won him critical acclaim, including the Japan Photo Critics Association prize in 1967. During this decade, he became associated with the Provoke movement, rejecting traditional photojournalism to explore a more subjective and experimental visual language.
The exhibition looks back at this fertile period, highlighting emblematic series such as Stray Dog (1971), in which blurred, grainy shots (the ‘are bure boke’ technique) convey the fragility and tension of urban life.
A break and reinvention (1980-1990)
After a personal and artistic crisis in the 1980s, Moriyama adopted a more introspective style. He revisited his own work through series such as Labyrinth, in which he deconstructed his contact sheets to question memory and autobiography. At this time, he also resumed his exploration of major metropolises: Tokyo, New York, Paris and London became his fields of inspiration.
Continuing evolution (2000 and beyond)
The exhibition closes with the ongoing Record series, a visual journal begun in the 1970s and relaunched in 2006. In more than 50 issues, Moriyama immortalised his urban explorations while engaging in dialogue with literary and artistic figures such as Roland Barthes and David Lynch. Record illustrates his constant desire to push back the frontiers of photography.
Beyond the images, the exhibition highlights Moriyama’s philosophy: accessible and reproducible photography, free from artistic conventions. His works reflect a relentless quest for meaning in a world saturated with images.
Informations and opening hours
From September, 6th 2024 until february 26th 2025
Monday : 10 AM- 6 PM
Tuesday : closed (MCBA opened)
Wednesday : 10 AM- 6 PM
Thursday : 10 AM- 8 PM Friday : 10 AM- 6 PM
Saturday : 10 AM- 6 PM
Sunday : 10 AM- 6 PM
Place de la Gare 17
1003 Lausanne – Suisse
Tél : +41 21 318 41 00
Email : info@elysee.ch
Site : elysee.ch