1987

In the lead-up to the 1989 World Design Expo in Nagoya, legendary photographer Toshio Shibata was invited by pioneering gallerist and Zeit-Foto Salon founder Etsuro Ishihara to join a series of journeys through Egypt and Turkey.

The photographs collected in this book emerged from that commission, taken during Shibata’s second visit to Turkey’s Cappadocia region in 1987, as well as along the Aswan West Agricultural Road in Egypt. This road, running parallel to the canal on the west bank of the Nile, stretches for more than 400 miles from Cairo to Luxor.

Shot roughly five years before the release of his first publication, these works stand out among Shibata’s early output - remarkable not only for their rarity but also for their occasional portrait-like perspective. Already visible here are the keen observations of the interplay between nature and human intervention, as well as the masterful use of light, which would later become hallmarks of his style. (Text from Deadbeat Club)