JESSE LIZOTTE | BORN TOO LATE

BORN TOO LATE IS AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER JESSE LIZOTTE’S SECOND EXHIBITION OF WORK, A FOLLOW-UP TO 2015’S HYPED SHOW LOWRIDER, A SERIES THAT SPRANG FROM HIS IMMERSION IN LA’S CHICANO LOWRIDER CULTURE AND IDENTITIES WHO MAKE IT.
WITH A CAMERA IN HAND FOR LONGER THAN HE CAN REMEMBER, LIZOTTE’S FASCINATION WITH TRAVEL AND DOCUMENTING SUBCULTURES STARTED AT A YOUNG AGE. DURING HIS TIME WORKING ON LOWRIDER, HE FORMED A BOND WITH A CENTRAL CHARACTER WHO’D EVENTUALLY INTRODUCE JESSE TO AN ASSOCIATE WITH LINKS TO THE JAPANESE UNDERWORLD. BEFORE HE KNEW IT, JESSE FOUND HIMSELF DEEP IN THE BACK BLOCKS OF TOKYO MEETING A NEW GROUP OF YOUNG JAPANESE MEN STRUGGLING WITH IDENTITY WHILE PAVING A WAY FOR THEMSELVES WITHIN THE INSULAR AND STAUNCHLY TRADITIONAL CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD.
AS TIME GOES ON, THIS NEXT GENERATION LOOKS INCREASINGLY TO WESTERN INFLUENCES SUCH AS OUTLAW MOTORCYCLE CLUBS AND AMERICAN STREET GANGS FOR THE WAY THEY’RE WANTING TO BE SEEN.
BORN TOO LATE LOOKS AT A SUBTLE COMPARISON BETWEEN OLD WAYS AND THE NEW AND OPENED AT THE RVCA CORNER GALLERY IN MELBOURNE AS PART OF THE 2015 INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL.