Minami Sakamoto: Outblues
Born in 1987, Tokyo, Japan.
07.04.2021
I fire a flash into the darkness and find someone’s skin that reflects with a solid silhouette. – Minami Sakamoto
Minami Sakamoto has long been documenting nightlife in Tokyo as she is deeply drawn to the night district, the club scene, and the countercultures among the young people living there. Armed with a camera, a beaten-up compact point-and-shot camera picked out of a pile in a secondhand shop, she documents the creatures of the night. Seemingly unencumbered by anything, the nightlife people appear to free themselves off society, but Minami reflects that we all live in the same way, caught between freedom and constraints. Any deviation from the conventional framework, be it appearance or lifestyle, leaves you subject to criticism and discrimination. It is only human to feel the external pressure to conform, but there is strength in numbers. And operating within perimeters you and your tribe define frees you. Even momentarily. To Minami, finding a place, a community, a visual expression is like a talisman or weapons that inspire you to resist the pain and suffering of everyday life, which is exactly what she is reflecting upon through the featured photographs, which are all part of the series Outblues.
Minami Sakamoto graduated from Tokyo Visual Arts Department of Photography and is a member of artist run Totem Pole Photo Gallery in Tokyo. Her work has been exhibited at several places in Japan and China.