TAB Event - Mao Ishikawa "Life in Philly"

Mao Ishikawa`s life in Okinawa in 1974-75 was the subject of her first, privately published photo book “Hot Days in Camp Hansen”. The exhibition at Zen Foto is an extremely rare opportunity to see these vintage photographs.

A visit to friends in Philadelphia in resulted in the Mao Ishikawa`s “Life in Philly”. Ishikawa had unlimited access to the uninhibited lives of her friends and extended families in downtown Philadelphia. The result is a vibrant portrait of life in urban Philadelphia ghettoes of the mid-1980s.

Mao Ishikawa is one of Japan`s greatest post-war photographers with a career spanning 6 decades, starting with studies under Shomei Tomatsu in the 1960s. Her work includes painfully honest self-revelatory images, penetrating social commentary, sharply observed portraits of humanity and analyses of national identity. She has lived her life with brio, a maverick. As an Okinawan she was born under US dominion. When Okinawa was subsequently recognized as Japanese she gained a unique perspective on Japan and the concept of nationality. She is also in a minority as a woman in the male-centric world of Japanese photography. In recent years she has also incorporated her age and illnesses into her work. We hope that this exhibition will contribute to the re-evaluation of Mao Ishikawa among the first rank of Japanese photographers.

Mark Pearson, Zen Foto Gallery