Caleb’s zine corner 6
Tres vol. 3
Today we are opening up “Tres vol.3” from Hui Books in Okayama, Japan. Tres is a series that catalogs the work of three artists in each volume: Masahiro Ikeda, Shinichiro Uchida, and Katsuaki Hata. The title page of volume 3 reads as follows:
“Photographers of three
living in Okayama.
This is a photo book that you take photos
from the perspective of each.
World traced through the camera
the object located in front of.
Something on the other of these images
I am happy if you can feel.”
Ikeda’s section (“untitled”) features carefully focused/non-focused images of an autumn landscape. They make use of extreme close-ups and a very shallow depth of field, absolutely calling to mind the work of Uta Barth but with perhaps a different affect (although both definitely involve a sense of melancholy). The last image in Ikeda’s section stretches across two pages and is a soft image of a woman that seems to fade into a tree cut off by the right frame. 
In Uchida’s work (also “untitled”) we see limbs and musical instruments emerging from a sea of thick photo black. The lights of clubs and landscapes of stages stretch into the abyss, warped by a shallow depth of field. Faces are usually obscured or in shadow, reflections of unexpected colors appear on limbs, and the images have an overall warm color palette. To me, the intimate gestures portrayed suggest “music” more than a photograph of a full band or musician in action. 
The final section is Hata’s “Tico”, and is immediately striking in that it appears to only use two colors – a desaturated green/cyan and white. The images are of a forest, softened by a snowstorm to the point of abstraction. Looking closely reveals the details of trees and mountains, and the angles often seem almost impossible. Two images break from this pattern to portray a similarly snowy city square, which helps us regain a sense of scale. 
The overall flow of this volume feels like the passage of time – perhaps an afternoon into an evening and subsequent morning – or each chapter functioning as a season (although I would interpret it as autumn>>summer>>winter). We begin with Ikeda’s muted color palette and understated images, in some cases printed at a very small size and placed in a variety of locations on the page. From here we enter Uchida’s full-bleed, black background club-scapes, and then emerge into the snowy void of “Tico”, which is once again located within white borders.
This zine is on view at the ICP School library, as well as Tres volume 4. Hui Books has a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated since 2015, but their website is http://huibooks.thebase.in and the photographers can be found at:
Masahiro Ikeda: http://d-76-mi.blogspot.jp/
Shinichiro Uchida: http://www.supc.jp/
Tatsuaki Hata: http://www.amakicamera.com
thanks for tuning into the zine corner,
till next time!
caleb
Monsters & Madonnas 