Statement

SGN

This project in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam records the current state of steel lattice towers originally mass-produced and erected by the French as utility poles during their colonial days. The project examines the significance of these overlooked remnants of the early 20th century that are beginning to disappear from the rapidly changing landscape of this city. The photographs investigate the lattice towers as structures that represent the historical trajectory of the city as it evolved from the center of French colonial empire in Southeast Asia to the economic engine of an independent and developing nation attempting to merge socialism with market economy.

Profile

Noritaka Minami

Born in Osaka and based in Chicago. His book, 1972: Nakagin Capsule Tower was published from Kehrer Verlag in 2015. He holds a BA in Art Practice from University of California, Berkeley and a MFA in Studio Art from University of California, Irvine. In 2015, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Photography at Loyola University Chicago. His works are among the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, and Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago.

Jury selection

Noritaka Minami reflects on how the vestiges of history inflect a given site's contemporary landscape. His series, SGN, highlights the collision of a colonial past and communications-dependent future on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. The wire-choked utility pole depicted amidst the 60s-era signage and twentieth-century architecture hovers between found sculpture and future artifact of a city in transition.

Links

• HP：http://www.noritakaminami.com/