沖縄、名古屋、青森に続き、今回移動pg展としては初の海外での展覧会となった『PENTAGON』展。おもしろそうな場所であればどこでも展覧会をひらくという移動pg展にとってこの展覧会は記念すべき初海外進出の展覧会となりました。場所は、 韓国のソウル市内にあるGallery Photography, College of Arts. CAUという美術大学内の写真のギャラリーで、13日間開催されました。
展示の様子と写真評論家の飯沢耕太郎氏によるテキストを合わせて報告をします。
This series is focused on the scenery of the seashore and a snowcapped mountain. The locations are based in Miura Peninsula and Boso Peninsula and across Japan, from Shakotan Peninsula, Hokkaido toitoman in Okinawa. When I found an uncommon name of a place and an interesting topography on the map, I set feet at a nearby station and just leave it to chances. I drive the highway along the sea. Sometimes I round to narrow path. Sometimes I trudged along. I came across an angler and a fisherman at a collapsing promenade and merely miles of a white sand beach. As sunlight suddenly shines into a pure white canvas, occurrence of the shade made time flow, and the world changed into realistically vivid. I printed my own unstable alteration in perception which is found at fuzzy boundary between living area and nature.
I started this series on the year 2000, and am taking a picture mainly of Kawasaki. I try to deny the view and sense of values to seek the meaning and story from certain photograph that has been taken repeatedly, by common technique of snap shot in this series. A large amount of picture of image taken up to the present time cannot be easily called the landscape and portraits. Also exhibiting those pictures without careful choosing will only make viewers conscious of just picture itself, before something is scrutinized . Recent exhibition method is also changing. A digital output is carried out and a lot of compound image is exhibited.
Velvet walls, dim lights, thin futons and darkness of the rooms… These color negative photos were taken in facilities and places with sexual atmosphere, such as “LOVE HOTELS” (accommodations for sexual intercourse) and areas once so-called “AKASEN” where prostitution was practiced. In these fictional places that were built for sex, uncountable number and kinds of people have come in and gone away. Inside of the photos, something like dregs that has tiered up quietly in time is creeping around with high humidity. Possibly, that is the memory of the color, which oozes out of the objects in the photos.
This photographer has been interviewing and putting on his exhibitions all over Japan. He is publishing Vol. 10 of his own paper series titled [SM TABLOID] which has been under way at the same time as these exhibitions. This volume will consist of monochrome pictures taken on the island of Tsushima which is a border island bang in between Japan and Korea. His style of photo’s change accordingly his surroundings. It’s a wonder to see what kind of pictures he will take at this location.
This product of 150 pieces (16 A3 pages) will be presented on the floor of the gallery at [SM TABLOID VOL.10 GENKAINADA-ISLAND].
Photographers’ gallery in Shinjuku, Tokyo, started in 2001 as what is called an ‘independent gallery’. It was in the late 1970’s that groups of photographers in Japan started to rent rooms and manage galleries on their own. Unlike the galleries managed by camera and film manufacturers and commercial galleries aimed to sell prints, these galleries allow photographers to realize the projects of their choice with independent-minds. Of the many independent galleries concentrated in and around Shinjuku, photographers’ gallery has carried out the most motivated exhibitions.
Special prominence should be given to the fact that their activities donユt intend to stay inside the group of limited members, but are always filled with the energy to go outward. Exhibitions have been held in many places in Japan, such as Okinawa, Nagoya, and Hirosaki. Also comments of the non-member participants can be found constantly among many pieces of stimulating information on the Internet website run by the gallery. (www.pg-web.net/) Photographers’ gallery has sought for a new form of a gallery and realized it as an ‘open’ one.
The works of five members are introduced in this exhibition in Korea.
Akai-ori by Nahoko Koide tries with delicate sensibility to catch the air spreading in a sexual space. Dangerous, but luscious memory put away deep inside oneユs heart would be brought out at the sight of it.
Naoki Ohji has been photographing the passersby on the streets of Kawasaki, a neighboring town of Tokyo. In his vast collection, ‘the prototypes’ of Japanese gestures and expressions can be seen through.
Shuhei Motoyama has traveled many places in Japan, taking photographs by assimilating with the places and the subjects. He chose Tsushima, an island located between Japan and Korea, as a subject for this exhibition. His work closes in on the subtle social situation this island faces.
Keiko Sasaoka in her kankou series directed her camera toward people who stand on the boundary between natural and artificial zones. Their pursuits seem individual, and at the same time somehow connected with one another, about to accomplish something enormous.
Keizo Kitajima, who has been at the center of the activities of the gallery, presents the two series of portraits and places. It is an aspiring challenge to re-define the basic themes for photographers, ‘core’ and ‘place’.
I am looking forward to seeing how the Korean audience would receive the works of these five people. It is true that their works only show a limited side of Japanese modern photography, which has been branching and growing in many different directions. However, through these activities of photographers’ gallery, the movements in its forefront are sure to be felt.