This August, EMON Photo Gallery is excited to announce a solo exhibition of Yuji Susaki’s series 「COSPLAY ｚmade in Japan」.
Active as both artist and art producer, Susaki has spent the last fifteen years examining the relationship between eroticism and disguising oneself as a fictitious character (costume play), kneading his ideas and discoveries over this time into the perspective apparent in 「COSPLAY made in Japan」. Susaki has painstainkingly directed every aspect of this series, from props and styling to hair and make up.
He combines a delicate and dextrous manual touch with uniquely Japanese elements such as ‘oiran’ courtesans, uniformed bus tour guides and even samurai. His models are sparsely adorned with only the key elements of each persona to create a ‘less is more’ interpretation of cosplay that seeks to provoke an evolution of Japanese fetishism itself.
This wit-filled rendition of contemporary cosplay is available for viewing at EMON Photo Gallery from August 24th until September 14th. As a special addition and in conjunction with this exhibition, we present a series of collaborative cosplay photographs by Susaki featuring Denpa Gumi, the latest in-vogue idol group hot off the streets of Akihabara.

［作家コメント］
Costume play....the enjoyment of dressing up.
Why do people dress up?
To pretend, to change ourselves.
Ourselves on the surface, ourselves underneath.
Before long, I who have become so accustomed to
pretense will lose contact with my true self.
Adorning a falsehood, telling a lie.
Wearing what others wear in order to nestle closer,buying security.
But underneath I writhe in agony, trying to find my true self.
The self I want to protect, and the self I want to destroy.
I exist always as a mixture of external and internal, naked
and clothed.
What am I trying to cover up?
Costume play.
Do I really enjoy all this pretending?
I believe I do.
After all, humans have always enjoyed both the outer and the inner.

Yuji Susaki

［作家プロフィール］
Born in 1963.
Susaki moved to New York in 1988 after graduating from Nihon University with a degree in photography.
Studies in New York were centered on photography and included woodblock prints and oil painting, leading
to Susaki’s first solo exhibition in SoHo in 1990. Returning to Japan in 1992 to work freelance, he made his start
in advertising, fashion, music photography and more. With mainly people and flowers as subject, he works with
the shadows cast by gentle lighting and seeks to portray contrary elements in delicate balance.

Exhibitions
１９９０　familiar Z Gallery (New York)
１９９２　symmetry Mariposa Gallery (Tokyo)
SPIRIT Guardian Garden gallery (Tokyo)
１９９４　silence of organs Mariposa Gallery (Tokyo)
BooBs East Gallery (Tokyo)
１９９７　flowers Tokyo Gas Gallery (Tokyo)
２００８　space Saito Gallery (Hokkaido)

Awards
１９９２ Guardian Garden Competition 1st prize
２０１２ PX3 prix de la photographie Paris 3rd prize Fine art-professional
２０１２ International Photography Award Honorable Mention in Fine art
２０１３ PX3 prix de la photographie Paris 3rd Prize Fine art-professional

Publications
Push Me ２００７ photo book
sweet joshi ２０１１ photo book
bon bon lolita ２０１２ photo book
Cosplay made in Japan ２０１２ photo book

OPENING PARTY>
August 24, 2013 (Sat) 18:00～20：00 Admission free

TALK SHOW
September 2, 2013 (Mon) 18:00～20:00 Yuji Susaki x Moga (Denpa Gumi) x Seiji Komatsu