Even though there is nothing as mysterious as a fact clearly described, the world that we live in is hardly a factual affair. Emotions, perceptions and an infinite number of combinations between the two make our lives much more of a mystery than we would like to believe. Certain is nothing. What was a given yesterday is full of vague and potential eventualities today.

Photography in the streets and public is by now an established genre, yet the world we have created around us and enter with confidence on a daily basis remains a mystery beckoning visual exploration. A photographer’s mission is to peer into the cracks that give entry to another world, a universe that is not usually seen and often times we don’t care to see.

Masahito Agake is one more hunter and watcher who is ready to capture these seams in our reality when they become apparent. While some may dismiss his visions as “nothing new”, once you take your time with the material there is a detectable addition of his own views. Photos from Japan and Taiwan blend into each other, connecting dots of universality that are often glossed over. In his photography he uses digital techniques to add an intriguing textural glow and shimmer to the images, which in my view add an incentive for repeated viewing to the photographs. While this may not be to everyone’s taste, we encourage you to not look just once.

Masahito Agake was born in Tokyo in 1969, and works professionally as an architect. In the early 90s Agake began shooting casually while scuba diving, and after coming across the work of Aleksandr Rodchenko and W. Eugene Smith in 1996, he took up photography more seriously. He had his first exhibition at Tokyo’s Place M gallery in 2003, and since then has exhibited his work in different galleries in Tokyo. Most recently he has been exhibiting his work at Third District Gallery in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.