
Unique black and white Polaroid; Signed by the artist.
'Passage 12' by Daido Moriyama is a Polaroid from 1998–1999, measuring 8.5 × 10.8 cm. A narrow urban alley recedes into the frame, its left wall crowded with potted plants, hanging fabrics, and a louvred vent. A single overhead light burns white at mid-distance, throwing the surrounding architecture into deep shadow. The Polaroid format amplifies Moriyama's signature high-contrast, grain-heavy aesthetic — the image sits on the edge of legibility, dense with compressed urban texture. Moriyama emerged from the 1960s Provoke movement, which rejected polished documentary photography in favour of subjective, destabilising imagery. By the late 1990s he had turned to the Polaroid as an extension of that instinct: the format's inherent limits — fixed focal length, uncontrolled exposure — suit his quick, handheld method and reinforce the sense that the image was seized rather than composed.
Daido Moriyama (Japan, 1938) is a trailblazing Japanese photographer known for his gritty, high-contrast black-and-white street photography. Influenced by post-war realism and the Provoke movement, his work captures the raw energy of urban life. Moriyama often uses a compact camera and grainy film to create a spontaneous, immersive aesthetic.
Passage 12, 1998-1999
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Unique black and white Polaroid; Signed by the artist.
'Passage 12' by Daido Moriyama is a Polaroid from 1998–1999, measuring 8.5 × 10.8 cm. A narrow urban alley recedes into the frame, its left wall crowded with potted plants, hanging fabrics, and a louvred vent. A single overhead light burns white at mid-distance, throwing the surrounding architecture into deep shadow. The Polaroid format amplifies Moriyama's signature high-contrast, grain-heavy aesthetic — the image sits on the edge of legibility, dense with compressed urban texture. Moriyama emerged from the 1960s Provoke movement, which rejected polished documentary photography in favour of subjective, destabilising imagery. By the late 1990s he had turned to the Polaroid as an extension of that instinct: the format's inherent limits — fixed focal length, uncontrolled exposure — suit his quick, handheld method and reinforce the sense that the image was seized rather than composed.
Daido Moriyama (Japan, 1938) is a trailblazing Japanese photographer known for his gritty, high-contrast black-and-white street photography. Influenced by post-war realism and the Provoke movement, his work captures the raw energy of urban life. Moriyama often uses a compact camera and grainy film to create a spontaneous, immersive aesthetic.
Daido Moriyama
How to Create a Beautiful Picture 6: Tights in Shimotakaido, 1987/2011
Photography
Gelatin Silver Print
EUR 1,150
What is contemporary art?
Contemporary art refers to avant-garde or innovative art created in the recent past or present day. The exact starting point of contemporary art varies depending on the institution, often tied to the founding year of museums or galleries that showcase the style. Contemporary art is characterized by its focus on current ideas, diverse media, and the exploration of new concepts and techniques.

Daido Moriyama
Passage 12, 1998-1999
8.5 x 10.8 cm


































