The exhibition is made up of items from the Per Amor a l'Art Collection, by Bombas Gens, which is the most important collection of Japanese photography from the period 1957-1972, in private hands, outside of Japan.

Between 1957 and 1972, a radical transformation in photographic language took place in Japan, spearheaded by a group of photographers who began developing their work in the postwar period. This renewal occurred in parallel with the major economic, cultural, and psychosocial changes of this era, marked by social conflicts, primarily against the American legacy of the occupation.

The exhibition was held in 1957 The Eyes of Ten in Tokyo, in which authors such as Toyoko Tokiwa —particularly interested in portraying working women— participated along with the photographers who would form the VIVO agency (1959-1961): Eikoh Hosoe, Shōmei Tōmatsu, Kikuji Kawada, Akira Satō, Ikkō Narahara and Akira Tanno.

VIVO ("Life" in Esperanto) drew inspiration from the Magnum Photos agency with the aim of forging a critical and subjective style of photography, in opposition to established conventions—to what was considered direct and objective photography—through the representation of clear concepts, meticulous compositions, carefully studied framing, and a strong sense of symbolism, thus seeking to express rather than merely document. The driving force behind his work during that turbulent period was the country's identity; its modernity and its past.

For the second issue of the magazine, Daidō Moriyama was invited to contribute. His work reflects a city where sex and eroticism play a central role. He became one of the most renowned photographers of his generation and was a major influence on Tamiko Nishimura, a photographer who worked alongside him and continues Provoke's thematic and aesthetic legacy.

Image: Daidō Moriyama. Eros. Provoke No. 2. 1969. Per Amor a l'Art Collection © Daidō Moriyama Photo Foundation