When 26-year-old Joe Honda went to document Asia's first IndyCar race in 1966, he never expected it would change the course of his life. But a chance encounter with Scottish driver Jackie Stewart triggered his resolve to venture abroad to document the people, culture and technology at the heart of the global motorsport scene.
The American Indianapolis 500 is known as the "greatest spectacle in racing." Organizers of the Indy 200 in Japan wanted to promote it as the embodiment of a new kind of avant-garde art form that fused color, sound and speed. To the Japanese cognoscenti, showcasing the first international Indy event in Asia heralded their country's arrival as an industrial power.
In partnership with award-winning Tokyo photography atelier Shashin Kosha, this exhibition at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong (March 1 to 31, 2021) brings to life memories of motorsport's golden age. It also casts a spotlight on a race that shaped Joe's career and the art of motorsport photography.
Joe Honda’s work showcased on the FCCHK Club’s Van Es Wall, named in memory of the legendary Vietnam War photographer Hugh Van Es.
In March 1967, with just $500, two cameras and only a few words of English, Joe embarked on a journey to Europe. He shipped his Toyota Corolla (which he later drove around Europe) ahead of him, hopped on a Soviet sea liner, and never looked back.
Born in 1939 in Tokyo, Joe graduated from Nihon University's Department of Fine Art. He trained with Yuji Hayata, a photographer to the Showa stars, before going freelance. In 1967, Joe became the regional representative of the International Racing Press Association (IRPA). He has exhibited in major art galleries such as the Nikon and Canon Salons in Tokyo and published extensively on Formula One and the automotive industry.
Over a prolific career spanning close to five decades, Joe captured iconic shots of Formula One stars such as Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna and every type of motorsport.
His archive of over 300,000 35 mm negatives spans the grit and glamour of motor racing's golden years through its evolution into a technological arms race funded by big business. But the cars were only ever one part of a larger human narrative he wanted to tell. His images range from the visceral to the purely functional, immortalizing the raw experiences, developments and memories of the international world of motorsport through one artist's perspective.
Arrangements: The exhibition space is open to the public between Monday and Sunday from 10am-12noon and 3pm-5pm daily. Details on how to access the venue can be found here.