Taiji Matsue: Andalucia 1988

With “Andalucia 1988”, Seigensha finally release a previously unpublished early series by Japanese photographer Taiji Matsue. Then aged 25, Matsue wandered through the streets and arid landscapes of Andalusia in Spain, capturing the scenes he encountered with a medium-format camera and countless rolls of black-and-white film he had brought from Japan. The journey took place after the release of Matsue’s debut work “Transit”, in a liminal stage before he fully established his photographic style with “Gazetteer” and later series.

In “Andalucia 1988”, Matsue examined and recorded his surroundings – influenced by various cultures and histories and bleached by a merciless sun – with meticulous, almost uncanny attention to detail and texture, depicting a world of strange angles, objects, and a seeming lack of shadows.

“While elements such as arabesque-patterned tiles occasionally appear, hinting at the region’s Islamic history, most of the images present anonymous scenes encountered while walking aimlessly under the scorching sun with a camera and a few rolls of film. In this unfamiliar country where everything looked new, Matsue scrupulously avoided landmarks, gradually using up the large quantity of film he had brought from Japan while drawing on the knowledge and experience he had gained through ‘Transit.’”
― from TOP Museum curator Takahito Ito’s afterword, “Curiosity and Humor: On Taiji Matsue’s ‘Andalucia’”

Published by Seigensha
2025
English, Japanese
Hardcover
155 × 228 mm
96 pages