Slow Boat

POETIC SCAPE is pleased to announce “Slow Boat,” the first solo exhibition at the gallery by Koji Onaka. The photobook slow boat (stylized in lowercase) is one of Onaka’s most iconic works. First published by Sokyu-sha in 2003, it was followed by a second edition from the German publisher Schaden in 2008. In the autumn of 2017, the work was reprinted once again by the Chinese publisher Imageless Studio.

Slow Boat is composed of photographs taken by Onaka during his travels throughout Japan between 1983 and 1999. Reflecting on the project, Onaka states: “By publishing this book, I was able to confirm the joy and importance of presenting images without being tethered to a specific time or place.” In his 2008 afterword, he noted, “Concerning most of them, I have no recollection as to where or when they were taken.” Onaka selected only his favorite shots from a vast archive, eventually composing the book alongside Michitaka Ota of Sokyu-sha.

While Slow Boat is technically a travel record, it easily transcends that definition. The photographs possess a unique character that goes beyond the simple nostalgia a “Showa-era” landscape might evoke. It is for this reason that the work remains beloved across borders and generations. Slow Boat has departed from Onaka’s hands; no longer bound by geography or chronology, it continues to travel as freely as an airship.