Yoshinori Mizutani: Tokyo Parrots

Born 1987 in Fukui, Yoshinori Mizutani attended the Tokyo College of Photography after graduating from Nihon University College of Economics. In 2014, was selected for the LensCulture Emerging Talents Awards 2014 Top 50 and the Foam Magazine Talent Call 2014. Mizutani has quickly established worldwide recognition and amassed an impressive list of solo exhibitions in numerous countries, including, Tokyo (IMA), Beijing (aura gallery) , Belgium (ibasho gallery), Switzerland (Christophe Guye Galerie), London (Webber gallery) and Milan (mc2 gallery).

Japan –  

When I saw the hordes of parrots of several hundred birds, I was very scared, it was like, I had fallen into the movie “bird” directed by Hitchcock.

Birds in this photo were brought to Japan as pets from the tropics in 70’s, and went feral; settling inTokyo. Parrots should not be in Tokyo.

I was shocked by this strange spectacle, felt uncomfortable and continued taking photographs.

 

Written & Photography by Yoshinori Mizutani

 

kippo_03Yoshinori Mizutani © Tokyo Parrots


Here is an image of a flock of colorful birds that seem out of place in Tokyo’s urban environment. It is a part of
Yoshinori Mizutani’s new works, which appear ,at first glance,to be paintings. His new work capture tropical parrots living in the urban environment. Feral parrots have became a global problem. There are nearly 1,000 feral parrots in Tokyo alone. In front of the lens are several hundreds of parrots, which are 40cm tall. At night, they return to and strangely blend in with the gingko trees, where they sleep. Mizutani sometimes uses strobes in daylight to create vivid contrast between the beautiful green parrots and the color of the sky. The brightly colored and slightly bizarre scenes represent one of the city’s attractions-its generous acceptance of what may be strange or out of the ordinary.

 

Reviewed by Mutsuko Ota, IMA Japan.

 

 

Related Posts

Jon Tonks: Empire

United Kingdom –  Empire is a fascinating journey across the South Atlantic exploring life on four remote islands – the British ...

Momo Okabe: “I truly wanted to destroy everything I had”

Japan –   Momo Okabe’s photographs depict the bare situation. Be it the sexual act, a wasteland, or the wake of ...

Mohamed Hassan: “Turning Our Hidden Room into a photobook allowed me to build a physical space where memory, trauma, masculinity and love could exist together”

Egyptian-born Mohamed Hassan explores memory, trauma, and father-son bonds in Our Hidden Room. Reconstructing his late father's photographic archive amid ...

Pawel Bownik: Disassembly

Poland –  Bownik’s “Disassembly” is an artist’s book in which a photographic project has been brought to the form of ...

Massimo Berruti: LASHKARS

Pakistan – Massimo Berruti’s long-term assignment in the Swat valley, in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtonkhawa, is keeping up with ...

Noriko Hayashi: “I saw many bride kidnappings in Kyrgyzstan”

Kyrgyzstan – Represented by Panos Pictures, Japanese photojournalist Noriko Hayashi has worked in diverse regions around the world, including Pakistan, ...

What Remains – Sarker Protick

Bangladesh –  It was in the afternoon, I was sitting on my grandpa’s couch. The door was slightly open and ...

Colin Pantall on Melinda Gibson’s Miss Titus Becomes a Regular Army Mac

United Kingdom – Melinda Gibson’s new book, Miss Titus Becomes a Regular Army Mac is a book about a collection ...

Boris Eldagsen: The Poems

Germany –  Boris Eldagsen‘s Photography explore the limits of what can be depicted. The ‘POEMS’ utilise the external reality, to ...

Showing Slide 1 of 10