For Sukita, the creative mind behind the iconic cover of David Bowie’s album “Heroes,” photography is an expression of a “fundamental secret” that artists share: a spiritual communication that transcends the minutiae of language. Born and raised in Kyushu, Japan, Sukita’s adoration for American and Western counterculture lured him to New York and London. He immersed himself in the Western music scene he loved, and his relaxed photo sessions brought him into contact with many celebrities, including David Bowie and Iggy Pop (with both of whom Sukita shared a 40-year professional relationship), Marc Bolan, and Japanese musician Hotei, best known for his work on the Kill Bill soundtrack. His work spans the early rock scene in the U.S. and U.K. in the 1970s, the London punk rock era, to the emerging Japanese rock artists of today.

This photography book is the first time the photographer has contributed to a major retrospective of his career, and includes some of his early documentary work as well as his rarely shown travel and street photography. It introduces the artist in two essays that explore his place in the broader context of Western and Japanese photography, and presents the many iconic photographs of Western and Japanese artists that have earned him his eternal reputation.

ACC Art Books, ISBN9781788841078, hardcover, 256 pages, 52 color and 165 black-and-white photos in book.