forward motion Tokyo 2004/2005

A city lives with its residents and they live with their city. As visitors to a culturally foreign city like Tokyo, we comprehend the structures, but we move outside the flowing masses of people, even when we are directly among them. Only when we approach the individuals in the street can we gain an intuition concerning their view of the city.

During her forays through Tokyo, Nicola Meitzner comes up close to the hurrying passers-by and shares a part of their path through their city, then withdraws back into a distanced position. The proximity arises out of the portrait series, out of the gestures and looks which the depicted figures exchange with their familiar counterpart. For a short time we participate in a communicative process which we do not understand, but whose sequence is familiar to us.

When the counterpart becomes lost in the crowd, the distance is once again there—we gaze upon a bustling street scene just as onto the city map upon which the next bus stop may be sought. Through views of squares and streets, Nicola Meitzner presents the onlooker with an overview: The urban architecture is depicted as an interplay between current office- or apartment-buildings and finely detailed, almost village-like streets of houses. The interfaces of the city collide with each other; structures increase in density and speed. In the constant shifting between overview and close-up, there is unfolded an everyday Tokyo which lies beyond familiar photographic and touristic clichés.
                                                                                                    Tomas Kadlcik

62 motives
Artbook
Inkjetprints 32 x 46 cm