![Book Flatlay Cover Front Transparent Trio[1]](https://d31dpzy4bseog7.cloudfront.net/media/2024/06/07080212/Book_Flatlay_Cover_Front_Transparent_Trio1.png)
Back to the Future – ‘Retro Futurism’ by Dave Kulesza
Melbourne photographer Dave Kulesza’s latest series, ‘Retro Futurism’, captures the beauty of modernist Japanese architecture, while celebrating an often-unheralded chapter in architectural history.
Never one to shy away from an adventure, Dave’s ‘Retro Futurism’ is the much-anticipated follow-up to ‘DPRK: North Korea in Colour’, and the next chapter in the photographer’s search for beauty through the unexpected. “Retro futurism describes a feeling that captures me when I see it,” Dave says. “It’s evoked by a past creation which is usually lost and alone among the vast, crowded and overrun cities of Japan. They appear as sleeping giants, out of place among the buildings which encapsulate them.”
What began with a photo of a Kyoto barber shop would quickly transform into a journey of exploration into Metabolism, a post-war architectural movement founded in Japan. The megastructures of Metabolism would become the focus of Dave’s thoughts – and camera – as he traversed the country documenting the futuristic buildings of a bygone era, and providing valuable insight into how society viewed the future in a past context.
“They differ in features, size and location,” he says. “Their presence can, at times, be dominant and overwhelming … otherwise subtle, easily missed or ignored all together. However, they all share a strong similarity: their makers seemed to have a vision, perhaps one which was ahead of its time.”
“Some stood tall and heroic, dwarfing the structures around them, like a foreign beast from another world that had landed among a busy metropolis.”
Featuring work by the architectural pioneer Kenzō Tange, as well as other renowned Metabolists, ‘Retro Futurism’ is a series of 30 photographs, each capturing the futuristic marvels that so perfectly embody the beauty of Japanese culture, a social paradox full of wonder and mystery. “Some stood tall and heroic, dwarfing the structures around them, like a foreign beast from another world that had landed among a busy metropolis,” Dave explains. “The rest, hidden and unknown. They could only be stumbled upon when exploring the lesser travelled streets.”
‘Retro Futurism’ will be shown at the Antoinette Ferwerda Gallery from October 19 – 29; 659 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, Victoria. Monday to Friday, 10am – 4pm. Opening night, October 19, 6pm – 9pm.
