Toshiaki Mori: B, drawings of abstract forms: Steidl Book Award Japan

B, drawings of abstract forms consists of dynamic and perplexing collages in which photos are digitally spliced and reconfigured, then colored and overlaid with grids, shapes and text fragments. Mori’s underlying photos mainly depict Japanese industrial scenes and cityscapes, interspersed with close-ups of everyday objects such as light bulbs and shoes, while the text fragments include writings on the Beat Generation. Mori’s drawings furthermore evoke the paintings of leading Beat figure William S. Burroughs, while Mori himself refers to his book as On the Road in a Hazy Mood , a prismatic visual homage to Jack Kerouac’s most famous work.

‘Toshiaki Mori has no intention of revealing the contents of his multi-layered collages of time and space.’ -Toshio Kuwabara, photographer