Naoya Hatakeyama's 'La Houillère de Westphalie' Published by Éditions Textuel

Éditions Textuel has published Naoya Hatakeyama's photographic series 'La Houillère de Westphalie I/II Ahlen,' documenting the coal mining heritage of the Ruhr region. The Japanese artist, born in 1958 and recognized in Japan and Europe as a leading figure in 'photographie plasticienne,' captures abandoned industrial sites in Ahlen, Germany. His images, devoid of human presence except for one exception, depict empty factories, overgrown vegetation, and demolition machinery, evoking a sense of sublime ruin reminiscent of pre-Romantic painters like Hubert Robert and Caspar David Friedrich. Hatakeyama's work, previously featured at the Rencontres d'Arles in 2003, avoids sentimentalism, instead blending the sublime with the grotesque. The accompanying text details '100 years of mining in Ahlen,' though the artist's intent transcends mere documentation, exploring themes of abandonment and the passage of time.