Kenji Hirasawa: CELEBRITY

Kenji Hirasawa is a young Japanese artist for whom the discovery of a thermal imaging camera gave him the opportunity to photograph what he sees as the presence of life, in beautiful heightened colour. Progressing with this technique he not quite ready to turn his camera on death, so instead opted to photograph the "life-less-ness" of waxwork figures in Madame Tussauds. Ironically their absence of life can only be seen thermally through their juxtaposition with the warm living tourists photographed alongside them.

In a society in which the adoration of empty people culminates in the cult of celebrity' the metaphor Kenji offers us is simple; celebrities can only exist when worshipped by their fans. And so at Madame Tussauds, the lifeless waxworks only become visible when their fans eagerly crowd round them, filling the empty cold negative space with the vibrancy of their warm glowing bodies.

It is fitting that in this, the Mecca of celebrity, Kenji reminds us that fame and celebrity are dependent for their life force on the continual support of their collective fans.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Contemporary
• Photography
• Art
• Kenji
• Hirasawa
• Madame
• Tussauds
• Thermal
• Camera
• Infra
• Red
• Japan
• Queen
• Elizabeth
• Celebrity
• Waxworks
• Wax
• Figures
• Heat
• Sensitive