“Hibi” (meaning “days” or “cracks”) is one of the final bodies of work by the legendary Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase. Created between 1990 and 1992, the series consists of black-and-white photographs of the surfaces of Tokyo’s streets—focusing on worn markings, fading lines, and intricate fissures in the asphalt. Fukase then hand-painted these bromide prints with vibrant, almost psychedelic inks and colored drips. These works are deeply personal, as the artist’s own presence is traced through inky fingerprints and drawings over the “organic” abstractions of the pavement. Tragically, just four months after the premiere of this series in 1992, Fukase suffered a traumatic brain injury that ended his career, making “Hibi” a poignant final statement on the materiality of daily life and the artist’s introspective psyche.
