Fuji Lawson

One of Japan's most iconic photo spots is to be blocked by authorities exasperated by badly behaved tourists. A big black barrier is to be erected to obscure views of Mount Fuji. The shot in question features a convenience store in the foreground, with Japan's most famous landmark rising behind it,

“If I didn't have social media, I wouldn't have come here. I wouldn't even have known that this place existed.” says one visitor who has come all the way from Texas.

Mount Fuji isn’t the only global tourist destination suffering from overtourism, which happens when a destination experiences too many visitors in search of their next favourite selfie or instagrammable moment for its infrastructure to handle, leading to environmental, social, and cultural strain.

Venice, Santorini and Barcelona are just a few of many other, once-idyllic places turned into overrun tourist traps, losing their unique charm and becoming unpleasant to visit. A combination of cheap flights, social media exposure and too many tourists, intent on ticking “the perfect travel selfie” off their bucket list are mostly to blame. However, much needed tourism income fuels many local economies which have no other means of supporting their communities. The difficulty is finding a balance between exploiting the destination without destroying the unspoilt beauty the tourists come to see.

Utilizing his trademark, rich, multi layered, photo based digital montages “Fuji Lawson” is a body of work from artist JW Andrew exploring the global phenomenon of selfie mania and over tourism. 

Aesthetically, the images are influenced by a wide, eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary styles and creatives including Gilbert and George, Duane Toops and David Carson amongst others.

All of these unique "Fuji Lawson" images are available to own as limited edition, Giclee prints on museum grade, Hahnemuhle rag paper. Images are supplied with a certificate of authenticity.

Click on the arrows on the left and right to move between the 18 “Fuji Lawson” images, click on an image to purchase it in the Art Store.