Helix Shimpei Yamagami

Based in Kamakura, photographer Shimpei Yamagami has carved a distinct and compelling path in contemporary Japanese photography. His long-awaited debut photobook, Helix, serves as a profound meditation on time, light, and the natural landscape of his local surroundings. The volume is structured around two complementary series shot in Kamakura: the monochrome SPECTRUM (created between 2014 and 2015 through an intense, unsparing engagement with his subjects) and The Disintegration Loops, a color re-exploration of the exact same locations. By stripping away personal nostalgia and emotional projections, Yamagami confronts the raw vitality of the environment, inviting viewers into a quiet yet powerful contemplation of time and existence. With art direction by Hideyuki Saito and published under the imprint of Akira Minagawa (founder of minä perhonen), this elegantly crafted hardcover edition in a slipcase physicalizes the contemplative depth of Yamagami's vision.