CASE TOKYO is pleased to announce its new exhibition Roadside Lights/Being There (May 19 - June 23), featuring two series by Japanese photographer Eiji Ohashi exhibited in succession.

Automatic vending machines can be found alongside nearly every road in Japan. During snowy nights, they illuminate the streets and provide a sense of safety and warmth. Yet the vending machines will disappear as soon as their sales figures drop below satisfactory numbers. In certain aspects, the vending machines’ presence seems reminiscent of our own existence.

The exhibition at CASE TOKYO highlights two of Eiji Ohashi’s photobooks, one in color, the other with monochrome photographs, both published in 2017 to great attention by international media outlets like the Japan Times, CNN and the BBC.

During the exhibition’s first period (May 19 - June 2), CASE TOKYO will exhibit a collection of works from Ohashi’s photobook Roadside Lights. A limited special edition box, featuring previously unpublished photographs, will be available for purchase. The latter period (June 6 - June 23) will feature works from Ohashi’s monochromatic photobook Being there. Images and artifacts from the photobook’s creation process, such as color proofing prints, form part of the exhibition and provide a rare insight into the design process.

Vivid colors emerging against a desolate wilderness, followed by beautiful monochrome lights and shadows captured during many quiet, snow-filled nights. Look carefully, and you might find today’s Japan reflected somewhere in Eiji Ohashi’s vending machine portraits.