DIGITAL UP MAGAZINE DigitalUPMagazine.com Nudes The latest series of photographs include the human body. Even though Maruyama used very defined physical material, such as the body of a dancer, he transformed it to a liquid, so to speak. He shattered something stable into an abstract image that reminds us of the flow: of a river, of thoughts, of life.... For this series he collaborated with choreographer Jessica Lang, which involved testing several dancers doing specific routines before pairing them up with picture-perfect movement. In the Nude series he used cutting-edge technology to create each image, by combining 10,000 individual photographs of the dancers, taken in the span of 2–4 seconds, and layering them onto one another to compose a single shot! »I know the advancement of technology has allowed me to create these new images that would have been impossible for others in the past,« said Maruyama. »The scientist/photographer É tienne-Jules Marey, who contributed a lot to many artists more than 100 years ago, used a camera that shot 12 images per second. But because of the technology we have today, I was able to use a camera that let me take about 2,000 images per second.« In all of his series, Shinichi Maruyama incorporates a contemporary Japanese approach to life by combining traditional art and modern technologies, ancient philosophy that can be achieved with modern practise. Beauty as an essential to strive for marks all of his photographs, making us astonished and at the same time fascinated by the fragility and incompleteness that exists with all things beautiful. Biography Maruyama was born in 1968 in Nagano, Japan. During his high school years, he became fascinated by Chinese calligraphy and photography. He studied at Chiba University and worked as a member of Hakuhodo Photo Creative. He is represented exclusively by Bruce Silverstein and has had three solo shows with the gallery. Since the late 2000, Maruyama’s work has been the subject of exhibition at prominent venues internationally, including the Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium; Carnegie Hall, New York; The Crow Collection, Dallas; Maison Particulière, Brussels, Belgium; Paris Photo, France; and the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem. His work is included in numerous public and private collections worldwide. Maruyama lives and works in New York City. DigitalUP [ 59 ]