72TOKYO Newspaper 04.2018

A fresh, dynamic and fast-paced photographic study of Japanese culture. Literal to its name, the series was shot over a period of just three days (72 hours), giving the images an unbound, truly unique autonomy new to Munro’s better known oeuvre.

Here we see the celebrated photographer work without the reserve of a client’s brief, instead following the speed of his own aesthetic discovery. Bold, black and white photographs capture everything from the Little Bars of Tokyo’s notorious Shinjuku Golden Gai district – sights few of us get to see, let alone document – to stunning studies of Geisha in Kyoto, who appear not as cultural landmarks but as individual women bursting with expression.

The series is inspired by Munro’s interest in high contrast black and white photography by the likes of Bill Brandt, Weegee and William Klein, as well as Japanese photographers such as Daido Moriyama and Araki whose work is rooted within the street. Munro however doesn’t duplicate or reproduce what’s come before, but rather encompasses the most graceful elements of his own craft, into a foreign, frenetic, energised and ultimately elegant landscape.

Originally published to accompany the 72 Tokyo exhibition at The Store x A Shade of Pale, 180 Strand, London (May–June 2018). Introduction by Carrie Scott, Curator.