The Tuareg, a nomadic people living in the Sahara Desert, are captured in the present. Photographer Keisuke Nagoshi's new exhibition is imbued with an ethereal spirit.

From one remote region to another. Keisuke Nagoshi is a photographer who has been wandering around the world in search of subjects that touch his heartstrings.

The title of his new photo exhibition is "DUNE.

The photographers will spend about a month from February 2023 in the Sahara Desert, starting from the Algerian oasis of Jeannette. The exhibition will feature approximately 20 photographs taken while wandering and living in the desert with the Tuareg people, a well-known nomadic tribe living in the Sahara Desert.

Many of you may have heard of the Tuareg tribe through the silver accessories used by Hermès or the Grammy Award-winning desert blues band TINARIWEN.

However, few people know much about the traditions of the Tuareg people and the circumstances surrounding them.

Border lines drawn during the French colonial period divided the homeland of the Tuareg people. And since 2014, some of them have become fighters to reclaim their territory, and the conflict continues to this day. The reality is that the fighting has intensified, especially in Mali, where many Tuaregs have lost their lives due to drone attacks by Russian Wagner units.

In August 2024, Nagoshi received an email from the Tuareg tribe with a single photo.

It was the daily life of nomads sitting around a campfire with camels on goza mats in a beautiful desert landscape where it seemed as if time had stopped. But there was also a lot of blood running down the sides of the camels and their faces, which were lying face down. The traces of the drone attack were clearly recorded.

Endless conflicts in various parts of the world. What did Nagoshi feel and with what feelings did he release his shutter when he saw the Tuareg tribe surviving in such places?

This exhibition focuses on the commonalities between yugen, a philosophy that continues to influence Japanese aesthetic sensibilities, and the Tuareg way of life and desert landscapes.

In addition, a photo book in collaboration with "SUICOKE" will be on sale at the exhibition.

The following is a comment from Suicok.

Each season, SUICOKE produces a collection of works, LANDSCAPE, which links the landscapes and cultures of various cities and products, and preserves the photographs in a tangible form. The photo book "TUAREG" was started from a common desire to "capture the cultures that should be preserved in the world". We hope that many people will be able to see the Tuareg people as they are today, as seen through the filter of Mr. Nagoshi.

In addition, together with a certain research institute, a first in the history of photography was undertaken.

One specially designed work will be exhibited, in which a photograph emerges or disappears depending on changes in heat and temperature.

These photos are excerpts from a video that clearly documents the changes.

Finally, we would like to share with you some of Nagoshi's comments on the exhibition.

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Planet of the Sand
of the sun setting slowly and distortedly.
A huge moon appears on the opposite side.
of that border that burns red.
That place is no longer there on the other side.

I believe that one day we will meet again.

The traveler without a mouth spoke to his heart.

One nomadic
symbols in the sand on the sand.
He starts talking as he draws.

The desert in front of us is
It is definitely our land.
This sand is home.

I look up and see the night sky and the ground.
overturn (e.g. a decision)
We could see the satellite going backwards.

Slowly stirring on that horizon.
That point of jet black
Who the hell are you ......

Keisuke Nagoya