CAPTURING TOKYO CAR CULTURE: RIDE WITH ALEX GRABOWSKI

Tokyo is undeniably one of the hottest melting pots in the world when it comes to car culture.

Whichever automotive scenes or subcultures you might be interested in, it’s certain to be represented at an incredibly high level here. Even if you’re not particularly interested in cars, it’s hard not to respect the fanatical levels of care and attention to detail paid to these automotive means of self expression.

These machines are not merely modes of transportation to their owners but instead outlets with limitless potential in which to express their style, personality and creativity through their modifications.

It’s close to impossible to make your way through Tokyo without seeing at least one noteworthy car along your way. There are plenty out there which will catch your attention with cool little touches and details, then there are some which elicit double-takes by virtue of their style, execution or oddity. Rarer still are the sightings of cars which stop you in your tracks and captivate with their sheer presence.

Anyone who’s had an encounter like seeing the low, wide and commanding form of an RWB-bodied Porsche 993 rolling down the streets of old Asakusa when it would look more at home on a racetrack, its unmistakable exhaust note bouncing and echoing off the nearby buildings, can attest to this. You never know where you’ll be when you experience a moment like this that burns itself into your brain, yet these occurrences are not as uncommon as you might think in a city like Tokyo.

You could be out in Shibuya on a Saturday night when the next thing you know, you’re amidst a sea of the most immaculately presented lowriders you’ll see outside of LA. Watching them bounce around on hydraulics, soaring nose-up along the road raised on three wheels or purely scraping their low frames on the asphalt sending sparks flying off into the night is a transportive sight.

It makes you feel like you’re not even in Japan anymore. Such blatant acts of hooliganism are a hilarious kick in the teeth to a country that places so much emphasis on conformity.

If that’s not your flavour then make your way to Daikanyama on the second and fourth Sunday morning of each month for the laid back vibes of the cars and coffee meetup. The atmosphere is more relaxed and the lineup of cars is more diverse. From exotic hypercars to pristine classics and everything in between, all brought together by the passion of their enthusiast owners.

You get the point, car culture is ubiquitous here. Vehicles encompassing all shapes, sizes, styles and influences all running the streets like blood pumping through the city’s veins.

Whatever shade of the automotive spectrum you wish to immerse yourself in, Japan has got your back. This high-caliber variety makes it the mecca for many car enthusiasts who flock from all around the world to take part in and document it. The sheer volume of coverage can be overwhelming at times and sorting through the noise to find a signal that resonates with you can be tough.

With so much machinery here being at such a high standard, it almost feels like a disservice to capture them poorly. Simply pointing and shooting without thought or consideration of the end result is completely disproportionate to the time and effort poured into these labours of love. Doing justice to these cars should be an involved process requiring more than just slapping a watermark in the corner of a photo.

Let us introduce you to an up-and-coming artist whose work is immediately recognisable as his, no watermark required.

Alex Grabowski is a graphic designer and photographer hailing from Los Angeles who now calls Tokyo his home. He is one of those people who brings a refreshingly unique perspective to how he approaches photography and applies that to presenting the car culture of Japan.

His style of combining film photography with digital collaging and adding his own graphic design elements stands out amongst swarms of car photo/videographers churning out content largely indistinguishable between one another.

It’s visually arresting regardless of your level of interest in cars. More importantly, we feel like he does right by the inimitable culture here, showing it in a way nobody else did before.

We had a conversation with Alex about his work, how sounds influence his visual output and unicorns.

CAPTURE TOKYO CAR CULTURE: RIDE WITH ALEX GRABOWSKI

Hi Alex, could you please introduce yourself and your work to the Sabukaru Network?

My name is Alex Grabowski and I am a Graphic Designer and Photographer currently living in Tokyo, Japan. My work consists of my documentation and interest in sports cars with various design/editing techniques. My dad started taking me to endurance races when I was young, so naturally my interest in cars has expanded to what it is today. I started collaging my photos trying to incorporate more of my own vision and feeling about the subject creating more than just a two-dimensional photo. 

What fascinates you the most about the Japanese car scene and how did you tap into it?

What fascinates me most about the car scene here is really hard to pinpoint because I like so many different parts of it. The cars, track or street, body kits and lowered cars, wangan racing and street drifting. That is probably what fascinates me the most, within those categories there are so many different styles. I started getting into Japanese car culture from watching drifting online. Once I moved to Japan, I found out how vast the car scene was here and realized it was much deeper than just drifting. 

How does the Japanese car scene rank for you amongst automotive culture elsewhere in the world?

Personally, it ranks high because I love so many different cars and engines that Japanese manufacturers made in the late 80s – 90s. Though to have the ability to see so many different parts of the world’s car culture be available in one place is incredible. 

Does the diversity of car culture here allow you creative freedom that you wouldn’t have elsewhere? Or do you think your work would still be similar if you were in a different part of the world?

I definitely feel that the diversity of the car culture here has given me more opportunities to be creative on my own terms. If I was back in California, I would not have access to the cars that I have access to here on a daily basis. When I first moved to Japan I actually realized how much America doesn’t have due to the emissions laws. I feel like I am exposed to so much more car culture here than just the average V8 swaps back in the states. 

What is your setup for shooting and what is your editing process like? 

I use a Minolta SRT101 with a 50mm rokkor lens for shooting. I first got into shooting cars on film with a half frame Olympus pen, I liked the relationships that it imposed on two photos side by side whether they were related or not.

When I get my rolls back, I usually go through them a few times before I choose something to edit. I edit all my collages in photoshop, and each photo is different. I never have a super clear end vision of what I want it to look like, but I usually like to try to create some sort of dimensionality to the photograph. Then I will throw on some music and just edit until I feel like I am satisfied, sometimes it takes me ten minutes sometimes it takes me two days. 

How did you arrive at the decision to use this setup and workflow?

Over time I think that I started becoming more selective with the type of shots/cars I had in mind on the photography side, not necessarily the editing side of it. My editing has changed over time, but I think that balancing both subtle and obvious digital enhancements at the same time is how I have come up with the style I use today.

Is there a particular setting you prefer shooting in and why?

I think that I find interesting things in any setting, though growing up around the track I easily have the most fun shooting there. Might sound crazy but it gives me chills hearing any race car tear up the Fuji Speedway straight in the rain and fog every October for WEC. Track events tend to have the most interesting cars by far, seeing them perform is just a bonus that comes with the atmosphere. 

What are the characteristics of race tracks and purpose-built track cars that appeal to you? How has the impression they left on you in your formative years continued to inform your work today?

As a kid, going to race weekends and camping out with my Dad made a huge impact on my interests in tracks and track cars. Having the ability to explore around the whole track is what I loved most about those weekends, there was no assigned seating and the sights and sounds were different at each corner over the course of the weekend. Now when it comes to characteristics of race cars or track cars or street cars in general, the sounds are what stand out most to me. Seeing and learning about those different sounds as a kid influenced which cars I am fascinated with today. It doesn’t even have to be a loud exhaust either, anything with turbo spool, flutter and blow-off is really what appeals to me.

Was it a conscious decision to blur the lines between art and car photography to appeal to a larger audience or was it a natural extension of your style?

I think that it was natural for myself to gravitate towards a subject matter that I actually cared about. My freshman year in college my photo professor told me that cars were not that interesting to photograph, and I should try pursuing other subject matter to shoot. I didn’t take it personally because I knew he didn’t know the difference between my passion and an everyday form of transportation for everyone else. From then on, I realized for my own work I just needed to pursue what I wanted to see. Whether it was accepted, or spoken about, I never really cared because I just wanted to create works with subjects that have influenced me for my whole life. 

Do you notice a trend amongst the people who gravitate towards your work? 

A large amount of my audience is made up of car enthusiasts, though every day I see more and more people interested in my work who have no prior knowledge of anything about cars. I hope that the work can create a different view or connection about cars that maybe they haven’t seen before. 

Which came first, your interest in cars or graphic design? Is there one you prioritise over the other and how does it influence the content you produce?

My interest in cars definitely came first, then graphic design in college. I started painting car liveries on a video game when I was younger, but never really thought of it as graphic design. Then as the designs got more intricate, I realized this was something that I really liked doing. I think that cars heavily influence my content because I have such an emotional attachment to them. 

Which game was it and can you recall any of your favourite designs? .

It was Forza Motorsport 3 when I started getting into painting and designing with cars. I think I have played every Forza Motorsport except for the first one and in those earlier games if they didn’t have the logos that you wanted you had to use shapes to try and replicate them. There was no way to really draw them out so I would spend hours just trying to recreate stuff like the E30 Jägermeister livery, or some basics like the Falken tire liveries. Nowadays they have layer masking options and logo sharing on those games, so it makes things a lot easier than what I was doing back then. 

What would you say are your biggest influences? How were you introduced to these?

I think that one of my biggest influences was and still is Frank Ocean’s ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ zine & Blond. The day that Blond came out in 2015 I had a flight to Tokyo from LA and for some reason, none of my music downloaded to my phone except Blond. So, for ten something hours I jammed Blond the whole way and today it still doesn’t get old to me. Then I found out he released a whole zine accompanying but not related to the album featuring some of my all-time favourite photography and interviews. His passion for cars shows, and I really respected the way that he represented his interests. 

Who could’ve guessed that a serendipitous technology malfunction would seed such a great life influence. What role does music play in the creation process of your work and life in general?

Music plays a huge role in everything that I do, whether its daily life or my creative side. When it comes to editing everything happens so much more naturally for me when I am listening to something that I like. The first album that really got me into listening to music was Childish Gambino’s album “Because of the Internet”. I had never heard anything like it before and the wheels just started to turn for the better. 

Do you have a single favourite car or style of cars? Both in terms of personal preference and to photograph and create with?

I have a lot of favorite cars right now, but I always come back to the 4-door RWD cars that Japan manufactured from the 80s into the early 00s. If I see something that stands out to me personally on the car like wheels, body styling preference, drift or race setup, I tend to stick closer to what I like to see when I choose a car to photograph. Though I am going to slip in that I just found out the existence of the Mazda Luce, a turbo 13B 4 door. I have never seen one of these in person, only online so it’s basically the car version of a rotary unicorn. 

On the subject of unicorns, what are some top priority things you’d like to shoot but haven’t yet?

Something I would love to shoot is all the custom styling of the Bosozoku cars, vans, and bikes out here. The roots of that style lie so much deeper than just cars and motorcycles but I think that today it has become a one of a kind style that very little people know about. If I really wanted to be specific about unicorns though, I have a really long list of race cars that I would like to shoot.  Jaguar XJR6, Niki Lauda’s M1 Procar, IMSA 320i turbo (any team), BMW V12 LMR, 787B (but not the Renown one, the Minolta one), Mclaren F1 GTR, Lancia Delta S4 (both stock and rally). There is this Toyota Comfort GTZ supercharger, basically a supercharged taxi and this is easily the hardest one to find out of the above.  

Where are the spots we can get the best access to Tokyo’s car scene? 

There are two main parking decks that everyone knows of, Tatsumi and Daikoku. These spots are consistent and always have a huge variety of vehicles, though you have to have access to a car to get there. Though if you are like me and cannot drive in Japan, the best thing to do is find a rooftop overlooking the C1 (Wangan). Every weekend cars and motorcycles race the loop all night, it is the biggest illegal race track I have ever experienced first-hand and as a spectator.

Besides cars, what are some other subjects you enjoy taking photos of?

Besides cars I take photographs of my day to day, landscapes or cityscapes are really interesting to me. Sometimes I will just shoot random streets here because I feel like I have been so focused on shooting cars that I am going to forget what Tokyo was like 5 -10 years from now.  I think that I will appreciate that type of photography more in the future when I look back on the past few years that I have spent here. 

Can you please tell us more about your connection with TokyoVitamin? 

I met Antarius back in school and he introduced me to the rest of the team a few years ago. I have done graphics, flyers, and other promotional material for their artists and events. I am a fan of what they do, and they support what I do.

Thank you A Lot for Your Time!

AUTHORS:
Phong Chung & Adrian Bianco