Posted:Sep 29, 2009

Foreign Faces

A photo journey of English teachers encountered along the Tokaido.

Taking a hybrid camera with an 1878 British lens and Japanese digital camera, I photographed English teachers at various points around Japan in search of the privilege of being an expat.

I have here ‘re-created’ the ancient stations of the Tokaido, the most famous road in the country. The original journey started in Nihonbashi and ended in Kyoto, but today it continues further along in its modern counterpart, the Shinkansen.

Nihonbashi, Edo
Nihonbashi, Edo
© Gary McLeod
Shinagawa, Edo
Shinagawa, Edo
© Gary McLeod

Mishima, Shizuoka
Mishima, Shizuoka
© Gary McLeod
Shizuoka
Shizuoka
© Gary McLeod

Toyohashi, Aichi
Toyohashi, Aichi
© Gary McLeod
Toyota, Aichi
Toyota, Aichi
© Gary McLeod

Nagoya, Aichi
Nagoya, Aichi
© Gary McLeod
Kuwana, Mie
Kuwana, Mie
© Gary McLeod

Yokkaichi, Mie
Yokkaichi, Mie
© Gary McLeod
Kyoto
Kyoto
© Gary McLeod

Osaka
Osaka
© Gary McLeod
Kobe
Kobe
© Gary McLeod

Himeji
Himeji
© Gary McLeod
Okayama
Okayama
© Gary McLeod


The images are part of series on display in “PRIVILEGE” at Zuishoji Art Projects from September 17 to September 23.

Gary McLeod

Gary McLeod

Born in 1979 in Portsmouth, he studied at Wimbledon School of Art, spending around 2063 hours driving up and down the A3 before eventually filming every junction of the M25. Coming to Japan in 2003, he set about documenting all of the traffic lights and escalators of Osaka before up and leaving for Tokyo in 2007. Whilst exhibiting, writing and teaching during that time, he has also spent the past two years researching the HMS Challenger's visit to Japan in 1875 for his MA in Digital Arts at Camberwell College of Arts. His current field of interest and recent work both act as a "window" and a "mirror" between Japan and the UK, whilst exploring relationships between digital imaging and Japanese aesthetics in light of ocularcentrism. See his website <a href="http://www.garymcleod.co.uk">here</a>.