Shinichiro Uchikura Solo Exhibition
“The Sea of Oblivion”
■Venue
■Period
■Hours
KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY
2-7-5-5F, Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0031
Friday, June 3rd, 2022 - Saturday, July 2nd, 2022
Wednesdays through Fridays, 13:00-20:00
Saturdays, 12:00-19:00 (closed on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and National Holidays)
▼TALK EVENT
Date & Time:
Venue:
Speakers:
19:30〜20:30 | Friday, June 3rd, 2022
KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY
Shinichiro Uchikura (photographer) × Kenji Takazawa (photography critic)
Kana Kawanishi (moderator/director, KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY)
admission free | no reservation required
*Kindly note the talk will be held in Japanese language only.
from the series, “The Sea of Oblivion” | 2022 | archival pigment print | ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY
from the series, “The Sea of Oblivion” | 2022 | archival pigment print | ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY
from the series, The Sea of Oblivion
2022 | archival pigment print | ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY
KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY is pleased to announce the opening of Shinichiro Uchikura’s Solo Exhibition, “The Sea of Oblivion,” on Friday, June 3rd, 2022.
The Sea of Oblivion is a series of photographs of objects abandoned on the seashore of Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture, where Uchikura was born and raised and where he continues to base his activities today. This new work is a further development of Collection (2018), which won the 41st Canon New Cosmos of Photography Excellence Award, and was selected for the “Tokyo Photography Month 2022” organized by The Photographic Society Japan and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.
Uchikura says he created this body of work while being absorbed in walking around the seashore with a camera in his hand, where a great number of plastics, daily necessities, and unexpected debris had washed up. This work, in which the camera reveals presence emanating from objects that have completed their roles, scoops up the voiceless voices of those who were thought to have ceased to exist.
By taking a bird's-eye view of the traces of human activity, the work transcends time and evokes a sense of awe. We cordially welcome all to this occasion where Uchikura reaches a new quintessence.
from the series, The Sea of Oblivion
2022 | archival pigment print | ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY
“The Sea of Oblivion”
I live and work in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Everywhere I look, it is surrounded by the sea.
The shore continues with beautiful beaches well cleaned by the government and volunteers.
A little further out, however, it is a completely opposite world.
The shore that has been abandoned and forgotten, with drifted and illegally dumped materials.
The seashore as it is in today's society, where no one even enters.
Plastic, gloves, toys, fish, and bird carcasses, all of which have been turned into trash and are empty of color and brightness.
Things from far away, tossed about by the waves of time, dried up by the sun and transformed into new forms.
These are traces of human involvement that evoke an odd sensation, as if they were not of this world.
I walk on, looking down, absorbed in my walk.
No anger, no disappointment.
I simply collected the wreckage as they were on the spot, one by one.
Shinichiro Uchikura
Artist Profile
Shinichiro Uchikura was born in 1981 in Miyazaki, Japan, and currently resides there after graduating from the Japan Institution of Photography and Film (Osaka).
His major solo exhibitions include “My Portrait” (2020, KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY, Tokyo; BLOOM GALLERY, Osaka), “Star of November” (2018, EMON PHOTO GALLERY, Tokyo), “Dog Warriors” and “Star of November” (2018, Kyogeirou G.GALLERY, Taipei), and “PORTRAIT” (2017, BLOOM GALLERY, Osaka, Japan). Major group exhibitions include “2019 Dali International Photography Exhibition” (2019, Dali, China), “My Body, Your Body, Their Body” (2019, KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY, Tokyo), and “The 2nd Ningbo International Photography Week” (2017, Ningbo, China), and “YP” (2017, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Yamanashi, Japan).
Uchikura received the Excellence Award at the 41st New Cosmos of Photography (selector: Tomoko Sawada, 2018), and was selected as the Excellence Award finalist for the 33rd, 34th, 36th New Cosmos of Photography (selector: Minoru Shimizu, 2010; Katsumi Omori, 2011; and Noi Sawaragi, 2013), and the Grand Prize for the 7th EMON AWARDS (2018), among more others.
His major monographs include My Portrait (2020, AKAAKA Art Publishing), Early works 1: Street, Early works 2: Portrait, Kako, Dog Warriors, and Star of November (all 2022, KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY). His latest monograph Collection was released on June 1st, 2022 (KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY).