Marrakech: Shooting Light

Wherever he has found himself, by accident or design, urban spaces have always been at the heart of Moriyama's practice, from the backstreets, bars and clubs of Shinjuku, to the quieter, often deserted streets of small town Japan. Identifying closely with the idea of wandering in the city, losing himself to the ebb and flow of the crowd, and to seemingly insignificant moments of everyday life, Moriyama is a master of finding overlooked scenes and images that perfectly crystallise his memories of a particular time and place. By titling his return to Marrakech Shooting Light, Moriyama draws attention to the very thing that struck him about the city on his first visit in 1989, the dazzling, saturated light, and by implication, the deep shadows that it casts; but also to his interest in the birth of photography and the 'myth of light' that was born with it. It is significant also that Moriyama's work in Marrakech follows closely his key series of the 1980s; Light and Shadow and Lettre à St-Loup, for both bodies of work saw Moriyama returning to the idea of high contrast to transform everyday scenes and objects into dramatic compositions.

(extract of 'MARRAKECH: SHOOTING LIGHT', by Simon Baker, Senior Curator, International Art & Photography, Tate Modern)