Building Up: Sohei Nishino’s Diorama Maps

1 minute read

Sohei Noshino, a young Japanese photographer, is an innovative cartographer, visually mapping cities in his ongoing project, Diorama Maps.

The project started when Noshino was a photography student at Osaka University of Arts. Noshino found his calling while studying photography. In one of his courses, an instructor required the class to look at contact prints and select the best shots from among the group.

“Looking at the selected photos of my classmates, I realized I was far more interested in the mass of photographs not selected, than the few that were actually chosen to be displayed. When looking at contact prints, I could see how they approach the objects and I even felt I could see their characters and tastes. I was very fascinated in this and started to think about making my work using contact prints. Also, at that time in university, I felt a kind of contradiction in learning “art” as education, so I often cut classes and went to the top of a department store viewing platform and observed people walking streets.

Now I look back those days: I can see that I wanted to see my trail and where I stood about myself objectively, from a bird’s‐eye point of view—this was very comfortable for me.”

Nishino’s diorama maps serve as an elaborate approach to a walking tour, an outlet where Noshino examines location and absorbs the energy of various cities around the world.

“I think my act of photography is to fix my memory of the cities which I absorb its place with the nature of photograph. “

Nishino takes inspiration from Japanese surveyor/cartographer Inō Tadataka’s motivation and physical. Fascinated by the idea of measuring and mapping the size of the globe, Tadataka began making a precise map of Japan. At age 56, he set out making the map by walking the length of the Japanese island. ”

Following in Tadataka’s footsteps, Nishino walks across selected cities as a means of mapping. His delicate process follows a carefully formulated method: He starts by extensively researching the city he plans to map. Next, he makes appointments with the managers of buildings with strict security to avoid potential problems.

Nishino produces approximately 6000-7000 images while traversing each city. He then develops the film in his studio, printing contact sheets of the images in his personal darkroom. He then cuts each of the contact sheets by hand and arranges thousands of the pieces onto a white board.

In an almost entirely analog process, Nishino does rely on technology to produce the finished image. He photographs the original collage in his studio, shooting nine close-up shots with a digital camera. Finally, he stitches the final product together in Photoshop and makes a LightJet print. From shooting to printing, the process can take up to four months.

Noshino’s work was recently exhibited at the Michael Hoppen Gallery in London. Hoppen, a renowned collector, spoke with TIME about Noshino’s work.

What makes Noshino’s work unique in today’s market?

Sohei makes photographs. His work is based on cartography. He does not plow the usual furrows of photography. I know of no one else working like he does. He also builds pictures that have a very broad appeal, which I like. We see children and adults all relating and being fascinated by the work.

Could you explain your process in selecting the images to exhibit?

We did not really have to curate this show. We put all the cities Sohei had made in two large rooms and the show was born—the selection was not edited. It was an odd show in many ways. As it takes Sohei four months to make each city, we had to wait until we had enough work to show.

What are some tips you would give to young curators and collectors?

One should always buy, collect or select what one likes. However, seeing photographs that one does not like—and understanding why—is just as important as looking at artists one likes. I also recommend looking at paintings as much as possible—I’ve always learned a lot by looking at paintings as well as photography. I know of very few photographers who have ignored painting. Painting is 3,000 years old; photography is an infant art, a mere 174 years old. There’s still a lot to learn.

More of Sohei Nishino’s work is available on his website.

Diorama Map Osaka, 2003, Detail: "I made this piece while I was in university. My university was in Osaka so I was very familiar with the place and actually, I remade this three times. Because of my familiarity [with the city], this piece was made from a non-touristic view. I think it is quite different from actual map of Osaka." Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Osaka, 2003, Full: "I made this piece while I was in university. My university was in Osaka so I was very familiar with the place and actually, I remade this three times. Because of my familiarity [with the city], this piece was made from a non-touristic view. I think it is quite different from actual map of Osaka." Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Hiroshima, 2003: "Hiroshima is situated as one of the most important cities in Japanese history. While I walked there, I thought about how the city recovered after the atomic bomb and tried to feel the atmosphere. Also, as I observed the city along the side of the river, the atmosphere intensified. The volume of the river in this work has consequently increased."Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Kyoto, 2003, Detail: "Kyoto was also not far from my house so I went there many times while shooting. Likewise Paris, the height of buildings in Kyoto is restricted, so I found it very hard to access the location. Also, as there are historical architects in Kyoto, there are some regulations for shooting, so it was quite tough for me as a student." Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Kyoto, 2003, Full: "Kyoto was also not far from my house so I went there many times while shooting. Likewise Paris, the height of buildings in Kyoto is restricted, so I found it very hard to access the location. Also, as there are historical architects in Kyoto, there are some regulations for shooting, so it was quite tough for me as a student." Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Tokyo, 2004, Full: "Like Osaka, I made it twice. Tokyo has more viewing platforms than many other world cities, so shooting went really well. I think Tokyo is quite characteristic compared to various other cities. Not good or bad—Tokyo is quite organic and its changing speed is very rapid. Tokyo is like a living creature.Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Tokyo, 2004: "I had a really hard time making this one as this was the first piece I made overseas. I didn't have any particular acquaintance in Shanghai nor did I have sufficient money with me. had an experience where I was shooting in the emergency staircase in a building and a security officer started shouting at me. I explained what I was doing by showing my portfolio but he didn't understand at all. It worked out in the end when the security officer took his lunch break..."Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map New York, 2006, Detail: "Shooting was very smooth as I had some friends to help me while shooting in the city. The last time I was in the city was on September 11th. When I came back in 2006, I felt a deep emotion while visiting Ground Zero." Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map New York, 2006, Full: "Shooting was very smooth as I had some friends to help me while shooting in the city. The last time I was in the city was on September 11th. When I came back in 2006, I felt a deep emotion while visiting Ground Zero."Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map i-Land, 2007/2008 Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Paris, 2008, Detail: "I stayed in Paris the longest—one and a half months. People in Paris were very supportive of my work because they understand art. Paris is like Kyoto because neither city has very tall buildings. I had to lean out windows of private homes to get the shots I needed. One other thing: I kept getting lost in Paris."Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Paris, 2008, Full: "I stayed in Paris the longest—one and a half months. People in Paris were very supportive of my work because they understand art. Paris is like Kyoto because neither city has very tall buildings. I had to lean out windows of private homes to get the shots I needed. One other thing: I kept getting lost in Paris." Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Night, 2009/2010, Detail Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Night, 2009/2010 Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Contemporary/ Emon Photo GallerySohei Nishino
Diorama Map Hong Kong, 2010, Detail: "Many big cities have a port or river, but for Hong Kong, in a historical port of view, the port if very important. I struggled with how to represent it in this piece. The friendliness of people from Hong Kong made me start to consider the project from a documentary perspective, something I wasn't conscious about before I started the project."Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Hong Kong, 2010: "Many big cities have a port or river, but for Hong Kong, in a historical port of view, the port if very important. I struggled with how to represent it in this piece. The friendliness of people from Hong Kong made me start to consider the project from a documentary perspective, something I wasn't conscious about before I started the project."Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map London, 2010: "The Michael Hoppen Gallery (where my work is shown) helped me establish places to shoot in London. The city was bigger than all the other cities! On my first day in London, I had my wallet stolen—a very depressing incident. In May and June, the day time is quite long, so it is bright outside until about 8pm. Often, I'd return to my hotel after a day of shooting, but would quickly continue to take advantage of the long day. A friend of mine also came along with me for a week to shoot a documentary film about my work. He was very surprised about how much I walk in a single day. By the end of the week, I was exhausted and was running a high fever. Thus, my trip started and ended with bad incidents." Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Istanbul, 2011, Detail: "The city of Istanbul was built on rolling hills, so it was tough to carry my bags all around the city. Istanbul is divided into an Asian and European side, so food, music and culture are all very interesting. I always walk around the city before shooting, but for Istanbul, I experienced a huge gap between my expectations and what I actually experienced."Sohei Nishino
Diorama Map Istanbul, 2011, Full: "The city of Istanbul was built on rolling hills, so it was tough to carry my bags all around the city. Istanbul is divided into an Asian and European side, so food, music and culture are all very interesting. I always walk around the city before shooting, but for Istanbul, I experienced a huge gap between my expectations and what I actually experienced." Sohei Nishino

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