Sumo | Tomasz Gudzowaty
Written by Simran Tuteja
Tomasz Gudzowaty’s new book called Sumo extends beyond the mere appearances of Sumo wrestlers. The author believes that all humans are fighting a battle of their own and sometimes instead of taking shortcuts, we abide by the rules of life. As for the appearances of wrestlers that the photographer astutely captures, he focuses on the act of deceiving. Albeit, Sumo warriors (Gudzowaty doesn’t like the term wrestlers) are huge, they are also powerful, fast and brutal towards their opponents. Gudzowaty’s book is a photographic tribute to Sumo, the national sport of Japan. It is a culmination of photographs of warriors captured standing on the streets, caught in the action of fighting, the distinct expressions on their faces and landscapes of Japan using the rebellious aesthetic of ‘are-bure-bokeh’, which means rough, blurred, out of focus. This book was published in June 2023 by Hatje Cantz.
In one of the images in the book, two Sumo wrestlers fighting are treated as the subjects. In this black and white photograph, one wrestler has one of his legs in the air as he beats his opponent, his facial expression giving away his discipline towards the sport. Whereas, the opponent appears to fly before landing on the ground on his back. The focus is on our subjects and the background is blurred to an extent that the pavilion seems empty. Gudzowaty’s timing and focus on details that fade away is phenomenal not just in this image but throughout the book.
While the previous image captures the brutality of the sport, in another image the sumo wrestlers can be seen fraternizing and peacefully eating a meal together. There are seven wrestlers wearing kimonos with their hair tied up in a bun, sitting on the ground around a table with food all over it. One of the subjects is raising his hand forward to lift up something using his chopsticks. In this image, the Japanese culture as well as the Japanese influence in Gudzowaty’s photography is prominent and the artist presents the photograph very skillfully.
The artist proceeds to capture the architecture, traffic, natural landscapes and picturesque streets of Japan. The images of the architecture, both traditional and modern, follow the ‘are-bure-bokeh’ technique, resulting in an aged effect that emphasizes the peculiar quality of the resulting style.
This collection of photographs is one of photographer and filmmaker Tomasz Gudzowaty’s most groundbreaking works. It is also distinct within his repertoire. In most of his other works, he focuses on the preciseness of detail to perfection, distinctly straying away from his usual for Sumo by residing to the usage of ‘are-bure-bokeh’, a style developed in Japan in the 1960s as an act of rebellion against the country’s usual norms of photojournalism. His work has been exhibited at PROOF: Singapore lnternational Photography Festival, Singapore; Grand Press Photo, Poland; Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize Contest Exhibitions, London; Wielka Brytania Grand Press Photo, Poland; "Ca me touche" Nan Goldin's Guests, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France; amongst others. He has authored multiple books and received several awards.
