THROUGH THE LENS: Shun Okada
Shun Okada’s main occupation is as a businessman traveling across the Pacific between Tokyo and Los
Shun Okada‘s main occupation is as a businessman traveling across the Pacific between Tokyo and Los Angeles, but his photographic body of work is a force to be reckoned with. Describing photography as a way to “capture light and shadows through the lens” as a way of bestowing meaning upon the mundane, Okada’s works not only tempts viewers with glimpses into the intimate spheres of individuals — be it a couple’s embrace in the ruckus of a nameless bar, ignored by everyone save for themselves, or even a man reveling in the sublimity of a simple nap — but also those happenings that may go unnoticed in the noise of everyday life which are elevated to a higher plane by the gaze of Okada’s lens. In this series, a modern Tokyo woman, Saki, is the subject of Okada’s exploration of high contrast light and shadow within the confines of a spartan interior. The blurring and soft focus in some frames evokes a raw, hurried sensuality which, when juxtaposed against the revealing light of an external flash in other frames, thus oscillates the viewer between a sense of transience in the depicted scenes, drawing to mind comparisons with Maggie Cheung’s cheongsam-clad character in Wong Kar-Wai’s In The Mood For Love.
Okada continues to make a name for himself through his photography in Japan and the U.S., and can be found at his personal website and on Instagram. Check out Okada’s film slides above, then explore the rest of our THROUGH THE LENS series for more on multidisciplinary artists making a name for themselves through the medium of photography.
