This morning I helped my friend Jean-Pierre Antonio hang photos for his exhibit, “Japonisme today,” which runs March 7-25 at Sawa Restaurant and Gallery near Granville Island, Vancouver (1538 W. 2nd Ave).
Jean-Pierre has lived in Japan for close to twenty years (he was a great help with research for my novel, Manga Touch). Taken together, his photos create a kaleidoscope of colours and images ranging from the blurred action of summer revelers in Maruyama Park, Kyoto to the larger-than-life performances of television personalities; from the serene and mysterious faces of old statues to the lively, self-conscious poses of university students. The photos are bright with life and movement, depicting a Japan that still has one foot in the “old Japan” that has always intrigued the Western imagination, while the other foot leaps ahead (and sometimes side-ways) into an ever evolving, reinventing present.
(Some of my favourite photos of Jean-Pierre’s are not featured in the exhibit, but are included on notecards available for sale at the show. The food at the restaurant is worth a stop as well!)
Tags: photographs
wild ink 
March 18, 2010 at 9:18 pm |
[…] Note: this is Jean-Pierre’s third photo exhibit at Sawa. Click here for a blog post on a past exhibit. […]
March 19, 2010 at 4:23 pm |
Beautiful Jackie and very interesting. If I lived on the mianland
I would be sure to visit and have lunch. It sounds like a great
place/
Millie
March 19, 2010 at 5:27 pm |
thanks, Millie!
September 11, 2010 at 11:15 am |
It is great to see Jean-Pierre’s photos. I was a friend of his years ago, when he was in the BFA program at UBC. I have lost touch with him, so it is great to see him here. Please let me know if he is having any other shows in Vancouver in the future, as I would love to go and see them.
Thanks,
Sherida (Levy) Charles
September 11, 2010 at 4:39 pm |
Hi Sherida. I’ll let Jean-Pierre know you left a message. I think he is planning to have another exhibit at the same location next spring (possibly March/April).
Jacquie