Good Night Shibuya
Good Night Shibuya

Looking back through a mirage of hazy memories, a city can appear like a different destination. Shibuya is a special ward in Tokyo, its nightlife renowned as a relief valve for Japan’s highly pressurized work environment. In his latest series, shot over three trips to Tokyo, Oleg Tolstoy sought to capture Shibuya’s nocturnal spirit, while leaving traces of himself behind.

 

‘Initially, the photographs seemed incomplete,’ mused Tolstoy, ‘I incorporated illustrative scratch techniques, engraving my handwritten words into the images to open up a dialogue between artist, subject and viewer’. Nights out can be an ephemeral experience. Flashes of dark streets and bright bars blurred by a heady rush of alcohol that often end in a compromised state, a process known locally as Shibuya Meltdown. But Tolstoy wanted to delve deeper into this world.  

 

By applying this personalised and illustrative approach, fleeting observations of the night – half-forgotten thoughts, half-remembered insights – are crystallized in the moment itself to capture a depth beyond the surface. Emanata, or motion lines, have been scratched in so that the static becomes dynamic, imbuing the images with new life.

 

The series reflects the human need to impose a narrative onto a situation. By literally doing so, the images become transportive, immersing the viewer in these late night encounters between subject and artist.

FEATURE

 

Regia Magazine 

Looking back through a mirage of hazy memories, a city can appear like a different destination. Shibuya is a special ward in Tokyo, its nightlife renowned as a relief valve for Japan’s highly pressurized work environment. In his latest series, shot over three trips to Tokyo, Oleg Tolstoy sought to capture Shibuya’s nocturnal spirit, while leaving traces of himself behind.

 

‘Initially, the photographs seemed incomplete,’ mused Tolstoy, ‘I incorporated illustrative scratch techniques, engraving my handwritten words into the images to open up a dialogue between artist, subject and viewer’. Nights out can be an ephemeral experience. Flashes of dark streets and bright bars blurred by a heady rush of alcohol that often end in a compromised state, a process known locally as Shibuya Meltdown. But Tolstoy wanted to delve deeper into this world.  

 

By applying this personalised and illustrative approach, fleeting observations of the night – half-forgotten thoughts, half-remembered insights – are crystallized in the moment itself to capture a depth beyond the surface. Emanata, or motion lines, have been scratched in so that the static becomes dynamic, imbuing the images with new life.

 

The series reflects the human need to impose a narrative onto a situation. By literally doing so, the images become transportive, immersing the viewer in these late night encounters between subject and artist.

FEATURE

 

Regia Magazine 

Empty Street in Tokyo at night
man sat o the floor at night on the phone Japan, Tokyo
man drinking in izakaya bar Tokyo, Japan
woman with umbrella at night in Tokyo, Japan
classic car at night Tokyo, Japan
Two girls stood on the stairs in Tokyo, Japan
Night time Taxi parked up in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Group of friends drinking on the street in Shibuya Tokyo, Japan
Man in suite walking over sick on the street in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
woman on the phone smoking a cigarette by vending machine Tokyo, Japan
cigarette butts in ashtray
Young guys paying in an arcade in Tokyo, Japan
man smoking in arcade playing pachinko Tokyo, Japan
man smoking cigarette wearing ripped jeans tokyo, japan
Taxi at night Tokyo, Japan
Girls crouched down smoking in the street Tokyo, Japan