In Europe Japanese books are hard to find so I was positively surprised that Takashi Homma’s online store at Between The Books added support for international shipping. 

His latest publication Mushrooms From The Forest 2011 was published for a recent exhibition in the Blind Gallery in Tokyo (December until February 2012). The book contains photographs of forest and mushrooms taken in Fukushima in the Tohoku area near the damaged nuclear power stations. In order to photograph fresh mushrooms Homma used a mobile studio to photograph them in the forest.

Due to the damage to the power stations, there where high radiation levels recorded in the forest and therefore collecting and eating mushrooms from this forest was not allowed. Mushrooms easily absorb radiation.

Like other recent publications like In Our Nature and Trails in Mushrooms From The Forest 2011 Homma focuses on our natural environment. In the book the contaminated environment is documented in a vast amount of pictures of forest alternated with pictures of mushrooms taken in a photographic studio.

The book reminds me a bit of Wald by Gerhard Richter, a book full of pictures of a forest near his home town Cologne alternated with random texts about forestry.

Mushrooms From The Forest by Takashi Homma is published by Blind Gallery (2011) and available through Between The Books.