The Challenge of Reviewing Damien Drew's 'Shikoku no Seijaku'
At first, I didn't really care much for Damien Drew's photography show 'Shikoku no Seijaku', but that's not his fault.
Unbeknownst to him, his show presented me with the challenge of reviewing the foreign and unfamiliar. In this specific case, the subject of rural Japan was unfamiliar and immediately turned me off.
Yet after two more visits to the gallery, I was ready to give his work the time it deserved and to face the challenge of adding my judgement: What do I like and what don't I? How do I feel? What is the photograph telling me?
The first few photos that left lasting impressions on me are Chinese Restaurant 2 and Seafood Market.
But my winner goes to Canopy Karaoke.
Chinese Restaurant 2 has this mural in the background that appears perfectly preserved. The photo is black and white but your brain fills it in as golden. I think it does a great job at telling any number of stories about this place. I wonder where the tables went? It feels a bit sad.
On the other hand, the Seafood Market feels more fun with its wonderfully kitschy sea life sculptures. While the shop is abandoned, you can feel the crowds and vibrancy that once was. The smell of the wharf. The past is palpable.
And now Canopy Karaoke. My favourite. This is the photo that ticks all the boxes. As the great art critic Ongo Goblogian¹ says "It's everything". Canopy Karaoke delivers everything that Damien wanted: nature, built environments, space, beauty, and peacefulness. And I found my easter egg in the depths of the tree. Don't look too long, you might see yourself!
Canopy Karaoke shows an abandoned karaoke venue in rural Japan. These karaoke ruins tells the story of Japanese travellers who once stopped by to belt, sweat and sake.
It reminds me of photos of modern day Chernobyl where nature is unstoppable.
The tree dominating this scene is the start and finish. It is what you notice at the very first glance, and it is where the eye ends after examining the rest. It has a blackness that draws you in and asks you to reflect. It feels safe yet scary. I can imagine having this on the wall and every time I look into it, like a magic mirror, it tells me something different. There is zen in this photo. A stillness in the blacks.
Damien shared that this body of work acted like a meditation in his life; his escape from a day job. He shared his journey through the Japanese countryside, breaking into abandoned buildings and trying to bring these left-for-dead, built environments back to life. The creation story of 'Shikoku no Seijaku' makes me jealous of Damien's freedom. With three young kids, it's just not possible or responsible for me to spend weeks away chasing dreams.
Coincidentally, a month after viewing Damien's show I spent three weeks in Japan and develop more of an interest in Japanese culture and art. I remember the moment when it all clicked. I was in Nijō Castle. Sweaty, shoeless, and shushing my four year old, but amongst the chaos the art in the 'Waiting Rooms' just blew me away.
Floor-to-ceiling art in every room. Rich narratives, figures, tigers, nature, wall patterns and carvings, and even Still Lifes of flowers and vases. All painted hundreds of years ago in a style that feels like it could have been done today. It felt modern and traditional. It hooked me.
You can purchase Damien's book with the complete body of work as well as full scale prints on his website.
Damien's show was exhibited at the Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf from 17 July to 11 August 2024. His full statement on the work can be found here.
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*1 The art critic Ongo Gablogian is a fictional character created by Frank Reynolds who's played by Danny DeVito in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia