Luminance of Streets (Signed)

Hoshi Haruto's first photo book, "Luminance of Street." This book captures the human presence and impulses drifting through the night city, weaving a vivid narrative in monochrome.

Even before he picked up a camera, Hoshi was drawn to wandering through the night city. For him, this time was a space where he confronted "solitude" but also unleashed his imagination and desires. After leaving Yokohama in his early twenties and experiencing a turbulent life, including working nights in rural areas, he became devoted to photography in his mid-twenties. He studied at the Institute of Contemporary Photography and began working as a freelancer in 2000. This book can be seen as an early culmination of his experiences.

The included works were primarily shot in Shinjuku's Kabukicho, as well as in other "night cities" like Yokohama and Kamagasaki. Although he obtained permission from his subjects, the images exude the improvisation and tension of a snapshot. A delicate gaze lurks within the seemingly haphazard compositions, where violence, humor, and humanity intertwine. What emerges is not an external observation, but a sense akin to "solitude" and "solidarity" that can only be shared by someone who has been in the same place.

The figures emerging from the light and shadow of the night transcend mere documentation, subtly imbued with invisible relationships and inner worlds. The series of images, unfolding without relying on nostalgia and connected to personal memories and desires, carries the faint scent of quiet "love."

[Title] 街の火 Luminance of Streets
[Publisher] GALERIA Q
[Publication Date] May 14, 2007 (First Edition, 1st Printing)
[Page Count] 156 pages
[Dimensions] Approx. 210*296*12mm / 567g
[Format] Softcover
[Language] Japanese, English
[Title Pronunciation] MACHI NO HI
[Author/Editor] Hoshi Haruto/Author, Ito Shinichi/Production & Editing, Shimizu Toru/Design
[Printing] Taiyo Printing Co., Ltd./Printing & Binding
[ISBN] 9784903141039
[Condition] Used 【9】Excellent condition
[Accessories] None
[Featured In] -
[Related Exhibition] 2007

"Luminance of Street" Place M (Tokyo)

Hoshi Haruto (1970-)

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1970, Hoshi Haruto is a photographer.
He began photography in the late 1990s and continues to produce street photography centered on the alleys of entertainment districts and urban nightscapes. With Shinjuku's Kabukicho and Osaka's Nishinari (Kamagasaki) as his main stages, he presents works that capture the presence and relationships of the people living there, straddling improvisation and direction. He apprenticed under Takeshi Sato in 1997, enrolled in the Institute of Contemporary Photography in 1998, and has been working as a freelancer since graduating in 2000.

In 2007, he published his first collection of works, "Luminance of Street" (galeriaQ). Since then, he has released "Whistle" (2017, Little Big Man) and "Shinjuku 1999–2008" (2024, Zen Foto Gallery). "Whistle" earned him the Photographers' Society of Japan Award in 2018. In 2023, he was selected for the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum's "Japanese Emerging Artists Vol. 20: Leap Before You Look," where he showcased a comprehensive exhibition of his past series, including new works.

His major solo exhibitions include "Luminance of Street" (2007, Place M / Shinjuku), "Luminance of Streets" (2008, gallery onetwentyeight / New York), and "Kabukicho" (2008, nagune / Shinjuku). His works are held in the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.

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Hoshi Haruto, Watanabe Katsumi, Yang Seung-Woo