"TERRILS" is a series of photographs of the terrils, the coal mine slag heaps scattered across the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. Hatakeyama gazes from a tranquil distance at these gigantic man-made mountains that once flourished as coal mining areas but have now outlived their usefulness.
Slopes of black sediment, terrain beginning to be covered with vegetation, and the distinctive shapes of industrial relics. This collection of works captures landscapes where nature and man-made, past and present intersect, from both a cool-headed record and a poetic sensibility.
This book is an extension of the themes that Hatakeyama has long been involved in: "Industry and Landscape" and "Topography created by human activities," and quietly brings to light the depth of time engraved into the land.
Born in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture in 1958.
He studied under Kiyoji Otsuji at the University of Tsukuba, and after graduating he has been based in Tokyo, where he continues to produce works that explore the relationship between nature, the city, and photography.
He is particularly known for his works that take as their subject the man-made sights inherent in the Japanese landscape, such as the limestone mines near his hometown, urban underground waterways, dams, and factories.
In 2001, he was selected to represent Japan at the Venice Biennale, and in 2011 he photographed his hometown of Rikuzentakata, which was devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and has since tackled social themes.
He was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal in 2015.
He is currently a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School, and is committed to nurturing the next generation of photographers not only as a photographer but also as an educator.
In 1997, he won the 22nd Kimura Ihei Photography Award for his photo book "LIME WORKS."
In 2001, he won the 42nd Mainichi Art Award for "Underground."
