Los Angeles - Shinjuku

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1954, Avo Tavitian’s path to photography is marked by a deep connection with the evolution of his environment. Shaped by the experience of moving to the East Coast of the United States with his family in the late 1960s, following the 1967 war in the Middle East, Tavitian developed a sense of being an outsider during his teenage years in New Jersey and New York, a sensibility that would later influence his work as a photographer after his move to Los Angeles in the mid-1980s.

Born in 1938 in Osaka, Japan, Daido Moriyama is a central figure in contemporary photography, famous for his evocative black-and-white street photographs that capture the essence of urban life. Recording Tokyo’s subcultures over the course of his career, he has focused on the dense, vibrant and often gloomy Shinjuku district. He uses a raw, spontaneous style characterized by high contrasts and grainy textures. His emblematic images explore themes of identity, memory and the fleeting moments of everyday existence.

Tavitian and Moriyama both focus on framing everyday subjects, capturing moments on 35mm film while embracing the unpredictability of the medium. Their work reflects a deep fascination with urban landscapes and a curiosity about the mundane, as they seeks to document the changes and constants in his field of vision. Through their explorations, both photographers use the camera to navigate the complexities of belonging and identity in an ever-shifting human environment.