Chris Low documented his five years embedded in the Tokya punk community on a cheap pocket camera

Tokyo’s underground punk scene is to be celebrated in the heart of Shoreditch with a new photography exhibition.

Taking place at east London’s Red Gallery between August 18 and 28, Up Yours! Tokyo Punk & Japanarchy documents photographer Chris Low’s five years in the Tokyo Punk Community.

Captured on a cheap pocket camera, in line with the DIY ethos of punk fashion and lifestyle, the photos tell the stories and evolution of subjects through the camera lens, with the lack of gap between generations suggesting that punk is less of a fashion fad and more a way of life.

Low has been involved in the international punk scene since the 1980s, having drummed on records by bands such as The Apostles and Oi Polloi.

In recent years, he has also drummed for The Parkinsons and Billy Rathe.

Having played for a number of popular bands, he was given unique access to all aspects of the punk community within Japan.

He found the country’s scene to be the most vibrant of any movement he had previously encountered.

“In my years of experience, as both a participant and observer, the punk scene in Tokyo is the most exciting and vibrant of anything I have ever encountered,” he said.

“It’s a culture that flourished in the face of a traditionally conservative Japanese society.

“Japanese punk is something that seems quite fetishised in the west and I wanted to portray it like it really is, through an objective lens.”

The show is on at the Red Gallery on Rivington Street from August 18 to 28.