"Kaohsiung Stories" consists primarily of images taken in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung in 2014, 2016, and 2017; in 2014, the images were taken during Fujishiro's personal journey. He met Stan Ao, a café owner living in Kaohsiung, through social networking, and his visit to him led to photographing local women.

Through an arrangement with businessman Ame Chen, who met Mr. Ao at that time through his introduction, the project expanded into an invitational photo shoot in 2016 and 2017.

Although not well known in Japan, at the time, Meisa Fujishiro was recognized as one of the leading figures in Taiwan's photography scene, as his photos and photo books featuring women from the 2000s, which crossed the border from Japanese gravure photography to art, were highly appreciated by some Taiwanese photography enthusiasts.

Furthermore, "nudity as an expression" was also prevalent among Taiwanese women in front of the camera as models. It is interesting to note that women were beginning to actively view "nudity" and "sexual poses" as a form of expression, rather than as an object of one-sided male desire.

While there, he photographed the works while conducting workshops and lectures. The women models standing in front of Fujishiro's camera were generally vivacious and had a firm sense of purpose. They appeared to Fujishiro to be a little different from Japanese models, full of a simple vitality.

Fujishiro, who is always ready to shoot on the spot, shot the Kaohsiung shoot on his first visit, including the location and models. This was also a response to the heat of Taiwan and the city of Kaohsiung.

After much shooting, much eating and drinking, and much sleeping, the materials for "Kaohsiung Story" were created by simply repeating this process. However, the publication of these materials had been postponed without any particular intention, and we can see a part of Fujishiro's rough character that even the timing of their release is a matter of fate.

After having intentionally and accidentally released photo books in various genres, the last purely nude photo book by Fujishiro was "the skeches of tokyo" in 2016, and "Yama to Hada," which juxtaposes nudes with mountain photos, was released in 2017, so it is the first nude one for Fujishiro in a long time.

Currently, Fujishiro is away from shooting nudes. Perhaps "Takao Monogatari" will mark the end of his nude film career.

The title "Takao Monogatari" was inspired by "Tokyo Monogatari" by legendary Japanese film director Yasujiro Ozu. Although there is absolutely no coincidence between the two, the title juxtaposing the name of the city and the story has a nostalgic and universal sweep, and was necessary for Fujishiro to show his love for Taiwan and Kaohsiung.

As for the contents of the photo book, as a whole, it is a tribute to the amount of light that fell on the tropical city, the attachment to the people and women who live there, and the comfort of being a foreigner.

As for the bookmaking, I placed all the photographs in the center of the book, with holes in all of them, so that the threads would run through them. I did not want to put the photographs on a dais, but to give them a load, which symbolizes the discomfort that a photograph can have when it exists in society.

Currently, Fujishiro is away from shooting nudes. Perhaps "Kaohsiung Stories" will mark the end of his nude film career.

The title "Kaohsiung Stories" was inspired by "Tokyo Monogatari" by legendary Japanese film director Yasujiro Ozu. Although there is absolutely no coincidence between the two, the title juxtaposing the name of the city and the story has a nostalgic and universal sweep, and was necessary for Fujishiro to show his love for Taiwan and Kaohsiung.

As for the contents of the photo book, as a whole, it is a tribute to the amount of light that fell on the tropical city, the attachment to the people and women who live there, and the comfort of being a foreigner.

As for the bookmaking, I placed all the photographs in the center of the book, with holes in all of them, so that the threads would run through them. I did not want to put the photographs on a dais, but to give them a load, which symbolizes the discomfort that a photograph can have when it exists in society.

限時活動:2025 日本藝術書展特賣活動

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