I, Tokyo

Magnum photographer Jacob Aue Sobol moved to Tokyo in spring 2006. Initially I felt invisible. Each day I would walk the streets without anyone making eye-contact with me. Everyone seemed to be heading somewhere – it was as if they had no need of communication. Most mornings I would take the Chuo-line from Nakano to Shinjuku, and even though the train would be packed with salary-men and school girls in uniform, I rarely heard a word being spoken. And so I began taking my pocket camera out with me on the streets and in the parks. Rather than focusing on the impressively tall buildings and the eternal swarm of people, I began searching for the narrow paths and the individual human presence in a city that felt both attractive and repulsive at the same time. Sobol’s first book Sabine (2004) was nominated for the 2005 Deutsche Börse Prize and selected for Martin Parr & Gerry Badger’s The Photobook: A History. Other Awards include a first prize at World Press Photo 2006. Exhibitions during 2008 include the United States, China and Denmark. Previous solo exhibitions include Portugal, United Kingdom, Canada, Poland and Denmark. In 2007 Jacob became a nominee at Magnum Photos. He is represented by the Yossi Milo Gallery in New York.