Supported by Deadbeat Club

Opening Reception: April 8th (Fri) 18:00 – 20:00
*Clint Woodside, head of Deadbeat Club, will be visiting Japan.

Venue: Gallery Commune

Jake Reinhart, a photographer based in Pittsburgh, USA, whose collection of works "Laurel Mountain Laurel" was published by Deadbeat Club in Los Angeles and has garnered much attention, will be holding his first solo exhibition in Japan, "Laurel Mountain Laurel."
Set in the Yakugheny River basin that flows through Pittsburgh, the local area, this piece expresses the significance of the land and the people, plants, animals, and all life that inhabits it, creating a magnificent river-like swell.
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"Laurel Mountain Laurel" is an incomplete backwards phrase.
This is an act of interpretation.
This is a series inspired by what gets lost in translation.
This is shaped by the extraction of natural resources such as coal, natural gas and timber, the resulting soil pollution, the exploitation of workers through low and unfair wages, and a history of exclusion of indigenous peoples.
This is an attempt to express the significance of the land and all life that inhabits it, including people, plants and animals.
It's like a folk song, a poetic expression of compassion, compassion and grief, or a doom metal riff that rings heavy with a history of destruction and indelible trauma left behind as a result of imperialism and forced labor.

At the center of it all is a depiction of the Yakugheny River watershed, a place that holds deep meaning for me as a Pittsburgh resident.
The word Youghiogheny (Yawk-uh-GAIN-eee) comes from the Indigenous language of the region and means "four streams."
Yough means four and henné means flow.
I've followed four streams and seen how they fit together.
It also refers to four main concepts:

1) A clear expression of the significance of the land and all life on it, including people, plants, and animals.
2) History of exploitation
3) Understanding what is lost in translation and what remains lost
4) How am I complicit in all of this as a photographer and as a white person who feels a deep connection and responsibility to this place?

Just as four streams can flow together to create a larger body of water, I believe that four concepts can come together to create a complete body of water.
- Jake Reinhart
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Jake Reinhart | Jake Reinhart is a photographer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Doctor of Law from the University of Pittsburgh. He has attracted international attention, including writing a weekly photo column for Germany's ZEITmagazin. His book "Laurel Mountain Laurel," published by Deadbeat Club in November 2021, has been praised as a noteworthy photo book by Chris McCall (Executive Director of Pier 24), Ed & Deanna Templeton (artist), and Tim Carpenter (photographer).
www.jakereinhart.com | @jakereinhart412

Deadbeat Club | 
A Los Angeles-based photography publishing label run by Clint Woodside. It has released numerous high-quality collections of work by artists including Ed Templeton, Vanessa Winship, Kovi Konowiecki, and Cole Barash. Its home-roasted coffee beans and merchandise have also proven popular.
www.deadbeatclubpress.com | @deadbeatclub