Hiroshi Sugimoto: Artist Profile

Hiroshi Sugimoto, a photographer of time and its elusive nature, works with a measured patience that borders on the monastic. His images, often characterised by a serene stillness and a profound engagement with history, explore themes of memory, perception, and the very nature of reality. Sugimoto is not simply a photographer; he is a conceptual artist who uses photography as his primary medium. His work is less about capturing a fleeting moment than about revealing the underlying structure of time itself, a structure he suggests exists as much within the artist as in the world outside. “Rather than the camera projecting the outside world onto film,” Sugimoto has said, “I am using it to project outward the world that exists inside me.”

Sugimoto's influences are diverse and far-reaching. He has spoken of his admiration for the Surrealists, particularly Man Ray, whose experimental techniques and exploration of the subconscious resonate with Sugimoto's own interest in the ephemeral. One can also detect echoes of the Minimalist artists, whose focus on essential forms and reduction to the fundamental elements of art finds a parallel in Sugimoto's stripped-down aesthetic. But perhaps the most significant influence on his work is the Zen philosophy that permeates Japanese culture. Sugimoto's images, with their emphasis on emptiness and the transient nature of existence, reflect a Zen sensibility that is both subtle and profound. "I'm interested in time," Sugimoto has said. "Time is invisible. I want to make it visible."

What is important about Sugimoto's work is precisely this attempt to visualise the invisible. His photographs are not simply representations of the world; they are meditations on the nature of perception and the passage of time. His Seascapes series, for example, begun in the 1970s and continuing for decades, depicts the ocean under varying conditions, each image a study in the subtle gradations of light and atmosphere. These photographs, often taken with long exposures, possess a timeless quality, suggesting an almost primordial state of being. They are not just images of the sea; they are images of time itself, a concept Sugimoto connects to the dawn of human consciousness. “Water and air,” Sugimoto once wrote, “two things that you can’t really capture with photography, are my subjects.”

Sugimoto's artistic career has been marked by this philosophical curiosity and a serial, analytical approach. His early work, including the Dioramas series, which he began in 1974, depicts museum dioramas with a hyperreal clarity, already hinted at his interest in the relationship between reality and representation. Through his large-format camera, the museums’ painted backdrops and taxidermied animals become enigmatically life-like. The Theatres series, perhaps his most iconic, comprises long exposure photographs made in classic movie houses. Each exposure, taken during a film’s projection, compresses time into a single image, producing a glowing white screen in the centre of a darkened theatre. More recent series, such as Portraits, made in wax museums, highlight how photography is used to record history and human nature. Architecture isolates the forms of modernist buildings, blurring the lines between time, memory, and history. In Praise of Shadow records a candle burning down, a long-exposure record of flickering light.

Sugimoto's interest in the fundamental rules of natural phenomena is a recurring theme. Conceptual Forms depicts mathematical models, while Lightning Fields translates early research in electricity into dramatic images by applying a 400,000-volt current directly to film. Opticks depicts the colour of light through a prism, drawing from early experiments with the science of light. His work is marked by this exploration of both the scientific and the metaphysical.

Sugimoto's exhibitions, too, are significant, often featuring large-scale prints. One recalls the hushed atmosphere of his installations, the way his photographs command a space. Recent exhibitions include a major retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London and Hiroshi Sugimoto Honkadori Azumakudari at the Shoto Museum of Art in Tokyo. His work is increasingly celebrated in both the East and West.

Sugimoto's work challenges the notion of photography as purely representational, pushing it into conceptual art. His images are about the ideas they embody, philosophical inquiries into time, perception, and existence. As Arthur Danto observed, "Sugimoto's photographs are not simply beautiful; they are also profound." His influence can be seen in artists exploring the relationship between photography, time, and memory.

Sugimoto's legacy is one of quiet contemplation and insight. He has shown us that photography can explore the deepest questions of human existence. His images, with their beauty and intellectual rigour, will continue to challenge and inspire. "I want to make photographs that transcend time," Sugimoto has said. This desire to capture the essence of time drives his work. His photographs, with their timeless quality and engagement with fundamental questions, stand as a testament to art's power to illuminate the mysteries of the universe. Beyond photography, Sugimoto has explored architecture, designing the Enoura Observatory for his Odawara Art Foundation, a space that itself engages with time and natural phenomena. His 68-foot sculpture Point of Infinity on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco further demonstrates his engagement with space and time on a grand scale. Sugimoto's work, encompassing photography, architecture, and sculpture, reveals a consistent preoccupation with the fundamental nature of reality, the ephemeral nature of time, and the ways in which we perceive and experience the world around us. His legacy lies not only in the beauty of his individual images, but in the profound questions they pose about existence itself. He has expanded the possibilities of photography, transforming it into a medium for philosophical inquiry and artistic exploration, leaving a lasting mark on the landscape of contemporary art.

Hannah Starkey: Artist Profile

Hannah Starkey’s photographs are not about grand gestures or dramatic narratives. They are about the quiet moments, the fleeting interactions, the subtle dramas that unfold in the everyday lives of women. They are about observation, empathy, and the unspoken narratives that shape female experience. Starkey’s work, one might argue, is a kind of visual anthropology of contemporary womanhood, a study of gesture and pose, of the spaces women occupy and how they inhabit them. Her images, often coolly detached yet deeply felt, are both familiar and unsettling, reflecting the complexities and contradictions of modern life. They are, to my mind, less about the what and more about the how – how women present themselves to the world, how they navigate the spaces they occupy, how they perform the delicate dance of identity. As Starkey herself has noted, “When I first started out, photography was very male and not really considered art. I didn’t set out to have a feminist agenda, it was more that my interest in making work about women comes from the simple fact that I am one. That commonality of experience is at the heart of what I do as an artist.”  

Starkey's work exists in a complex dialogue with the history of art and photography. One detects echoes of the Pre-Raphaelites, their attention to detail, their focus on female beauty, their penchant for narrative suggestion. There's a hint of Degas's voyeuristic gaze, his intimate glimpses into the lives of women, though Starkey’s perspective is fundamentally different. It’s not the male gaze looking at women, but something more nuanced, a recognition of female agency within the act of being observed. As Susan McCrory observes, “Some critics have read sadness and loneliness on the faces of the women in her photographs. To me they seem lost in a vast expanse of thought.” This “vast expanse of thought,” I’d argue, is crucial to understanding Starkey’s project. It's not simply about capturing a likeness, but about suggesting the internal world of her subjects. Her influences, as she explains, are diverse: “In the beginning, I wanted to create a hybrid out of the different approaches I had been taught, by somehow bringing together the emotive language of documentary with the slickness of advertising and the observational style of street photography. I think I’ve become more reflective and considered, but the performative element has been a constant.”  

Her work also engages with the history of photography, though she rarely makes explicit references. One might think of the street photography of Helen Levitt, her ability to capture the fleeting moments of everyday life. Or the staged tableaux of Jeff Wall, his carefully constructed narratives that blur the lines between reality and fiction. But Starkey’s work is quieter, more understated. It’s less about the dramatic event and more about the subtle nuances of human interaction. As she has said, “I’m interested in the everyday. The things that we often overlook, the moments that pass us by. These are the moments that make up our lives, and they are the moments that I want to capture.” The book Pleasures and Terrors of Domestic Comfort, as she notes, also played a significant role, exposing “the anxieties at the heart of the American ideal of home through images by the likes of Nan Goldin, William Eggleston and Cindy Sherman.”  

What, then, is the importance of Starkey’s work? It lies, it is argued, in its ability to make the ordinary extraordinary. She finds beauty in the mundane, poetry in the everyday. Her photographs are not about sensational events or dramatic occurrences. They are about the quiet moments of reflection, the fleeting interactions with strangers, the subtle gestures that reveal so much about human experience. They are, in a sense, portraits of contemporary life, but portraits that are not focused on individual personalities, but on the shared experiences of womanhood. It's not about celebrating the exceptional, but about acknowledging the significance of the ordinary. As she has explained, her interest lies in “explorations of everyday experiences and observations of inner city life from a female perspective.”

Starkey’s work has evolved over time, though her core themes have remained consistent. Her early photographs, often taken in public spaces, focused on the interactions between women and their surroundings. They explored the ways in which women navigate the urban landscape, the subtle power dynamics that play out in public spaces. Later, her work began to focus more on interior spaces, on the private moments of reflection and introspection. These images, often more intimate and contemplative, explore the inner lives of women, their thoughts, their feelings, their dreams. There's a shift from the public performance to the private contemplation, a movement inwards, exploring the psychological landscape of her subjects. This exploration of the inner world, the “unknowable depth of the female subject’s character and personality,” as McCrory puts it, is a constant thread throughout her work. As she has explained regarding her process, “I think I’ve become more reflective and considered, but the performative element has been a constant.”

Her use of colour has also evolved. While her early work was often characterised by a muted palette, she later began to incorporate more vibrant colours. These colours, however, are never simply decorative. They add another layer of meaning, enhancing the emotional impact.

Starkey's books are not simply collections of images; they are carefully curated narratives. They offer a glimpse into her world, a world of quiet observation, subtle interaction, and unspoken narratives. Her exhibitions, too, are carefully considered experiences. They are not simply displays of individual photographs, but immersive environments that invite the viewer to engage with her work on a deeper level. They become spaces for reflection, mirroring the contemplative nature of the images themselves. Her MA show, as she recalls, “set me up. Suddenly I was in demand and simultaneously I became very aware of the different space that women occupy in the photography world, both as practitioners and subjects.” This early success led to her first solo exhibition in 1999 at Cornerhouse, Manchester, further solidifying her position in the art world.  

Starkey’s work occupies a unique position in the history of photography. She is not a photojournalist, nor is she a fashion photographer. She is something more, a visual poet of the everyday. Her work resonates with the tradition of street photography, but it is also deeply personal and introspective. It engages with the broader themes of contemporary art, such as identity, gender, and representation. She's part of a generation of artists exploring the complexities of contemporary life, using photography as a tool for social commentary and personal exploration. As she has observed, “I have been acutely aware of that ever since, the ways in which women are constantly evaluated and judged. My gaze is not directed in that way. A lot of what I do is about creating a different level of engagement with women, a different space for them without that judgment or scrutiny.”  

It is difficult to quantify the influence of an artist, but it is clear that Starkey’s work has resonated with a wide audience. Her photographs have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and they have been published in numerous books and magazines. Her work has undoubtedly influenced other photographers, particularly those working in the field of portraiture and social documentary. Her focus on the everyday, her quiet observation of female experience, has opened up new ways of seeing and representing women in photography. As she has said, her photographs are “explorations of everyday experiences and observations of inner city life from a female perspective,” and it is this perspective, this nuanced understanding of female experience, that forms the core of her legacy. And, as she notes, she is also inspired by “how younger female photographers are making their presence felt. It just feels like things are opening up because so many young women are expressing themselves through photography.”  

Starkey’s legacy lies in her ability to capture the quiet drama of the everyday, to reveal the beauty and complexity of female experience. Her photographs are not just images; they are invitations to look more closely, to see more deeply, to understand the unspoken narratives that shape our lives. They are, in short, a vital contribution to our understanding of the contemporary world. Her work, one suspects, will continue to resonate, to challenge, and to inspire for many years to come. It's a body of work that asks us to pay attention, to look beyond the surface, and to recognise the epic within the everyday, the monumentality within the seemingly mundane.