髙橋こうた

Kouta Takahashi

In 1912, the Japanese explorer Nobu Shirase set out to become the first man to reach the South Pole on foot, but gave up at 80°05′ south latitude. From that same point, over a hundred years later, explorer Masatatsu Abe, who like Shirase was born in Akita, pioneered a previously unexplored route to reach the South Pole by solo trek.
During his final moments, Shirase composed a waka, a short Japanese poem: "Even after I’m gone, keep searching for the treasure buried deep in Antarctica, until it is brought to light for all the world to see.” What is the treasure that lies buried in the earth? What motivates these explorers to embark on such expeditions?

Born in Akita, Japan, in 1986, Kouta Takahashi became interested in photography as a way of giving expression to questions raised in his mind from contact with society and people. Launching his career as an artist in 2019, he does projects based on careful research. The visual story 80°05′, which was started in 2020 and asks what motivates explorers, was shortlisted for the 2022 LUMA Rencontres Dummy Book Award Arles.