Susumu Okada
“ create new value ”
2018Excellence Award
ARTIST STATEMENT
create new value
Everything in this world is, intrinsically, equally valueless. And precisely because things have no value, humans can attach value to them. We are free to grant value to things. I regard this as the value of the valueless. In this work, I used techniques unique to digital to record the fine details of the tiny particles of no value that scatter under your feet. Through these photographs, I hope to make viewers reconsider the value of the valueless.
Entries form: Book (500 x 361 mm), eight pigment-ink prints and eight sheets with affixed grains of sand that were the photo subjects, A3+ size, one booklet, total of 16 items
Selecting judge: Sandra Phillips
We selected Susumu Okada's eccentric book, create new value, as the excellence award. For over a hundred years, photographic have been used as factual proofs, and have served to convey scientific ideas. The book includes both tiny pieces of sand and their photographic enlargements. What we find especially magical is the enlargement, which becomes especially fanciful while also describing the properties of the sand grain in great detail.
PROFILE
Susumu Okada
| 1984 | Born in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo |
| 2006 | Graduated from the Photo Art course at the Nippon Photography Institute |
| Currently active as a photographer | |
Solo exhibitions
| 2012 | Shiroi Konseki at the Shinjuku Nikon Gallery, Tokyo |
| 2012 | Shiroi Konseki at the Osaka Nikon Gallery, Osaka |
| 2016 | Suna no Kao at the Shinjuku Nikon Gallery, Tokyo |
| 2017 | Suna no Kao at the Osaka Nikon Gallery, Osaka |
Group exhibitions
| 2016 | Art Baseball Exhibition at Ojisan no Ie, Tokyo |
| 2017 | 9sence ARTS Vol. 1 at Y's ARTS, Tokyo |
2018Excellence Award