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Quirky Observations of Japan from a Free Climber’s Perspective

By Eva Clifford on September 26, 2016

born-1

born 1

One day, when returning back from climbing… I realized I wasn’t viewing the environment with the climber’s eye after a certain point. I became curious of the ‘border line’ — and decided to approach the city with the climber’s eye. — Ryota Kikuchi

Japanese free-climber stroke artist Ryota Kikuchi uses his camera to present a unique perspective of the city in his latest project Respectablandscape. Covering areas of Chiba and Tokyo, the artist utilizes his skills and perspectives as a free-climber to explore these public realms and question the ‘invisible borderlines,’ in his quirky observations of the city. In the following images, the city becomes Kikuchi’s solitary playground, where signs, bridges and lampposts all become on which objects to climb.

“The first camera I bought was to document my free-climbing activities,” explains Kikuchi, “but then I discovered that the photographs I take as a climber differ to those taken by an ordinary photographer. It was also difficult to explain the difference when showing family and friends the images. Therefore, I decided to change my photographic objects from rocks to motifs in the public, including lampposts and monuments. This way – I could connect the gaps in between.”

Kikuchi’s work will be shown at the upcoming international photo fair and festival, Unseen. The fifth edition of Unseen Photo Fair takes place in Amsterdam from 23-25 September 2016. His work is being represented by Kana Kawanishi Gallery.