Shinichiro Uchikura Solo Exhibition
“The Floating Portrait”
■Venue
■Period
■Hours
KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY
2-7-5-5F, Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0031 / Tel: +81 3 5843 9128
Saturday, July 9th, 2022 - Saturday, August 6th, 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:
18:00-19:00 | Saturday, July 9th, 2022
KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY
Shinichiro Uchikura (photographer) × Kimi Himeno (Director, AKAAKA Art Publishing, Inc.)
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 Floating Portrait” 2022 | archival pigment print ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY
from the series, “The Floating Portrait” 2022 | archival pigment print ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY
from the series, The Floating Portrait
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 Floating Portrait” on Saturday, July 9th, 2022.
Shinichiro Uchikura, the second-generation owner of a photo studio, has been showing portrait photographs since the beginning of his career. Uchikura's portraits, which capture even the atmosphere of the ordinary people who are their subjects, have a distinctive presence that sets them apart from existing portrait photography. His portrait works have gained recognition through such awards as the Canon New Cosmos of Photography Honorable Mention (selected by Minoru Shimizu) and the publication of his photo book My Portrait (2020) from Akaaka Art Publishing.
In this exhibition, “The Floating Portrait,” he will present a group of previously unpublished portraits that have undergone a further evolution.
In these photographs, taken from a height of about 3 meters, the subjects all have their eyes closed, and the unique atmosphere that each have had since birth seems to be scooped even more purely. In his own statement, Uchikura says that he created the photographs while feeling “as if their presence was floating right in front of me” in “a dimension where even the boundary between life and death has almost disappeared.” The presence of each individual emerging from the tranquil world certainly feels like a mysterious presence emanating from the body.
We cordially welcome all to this opportunity to view Uchikura's new world of portrait photography, in which each image has a unique texture and draws the viewer into a mysterious world, filled with a unique spirit that only photography can capture.
from the series, “The Floating Portrait” 2022 | archival pigment print ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
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from the series, “The Floating Portrait” 2022 | archival pigment print ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
from the series, “The Floating Portrait” 2022 | archival pigment print ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
from the series, “The Floating Portrait” 2022 | archival pigment print ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
from the series, “The Floating Portrait” 2022 | archival pigment print ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
from the series, The Floating Portrait
2022 | archival pigment print | ©︎ Shinichiro Uchikura, courtesy KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY
The Floating Portrait
What is the existence of human beings?
A bird's-eye view of “people” from a 3-meter stepladder reveals a different world.
I realize that each person lives in this world, radiating individuality and fulfilling his or her role.
I have only one order for them.
I ask them to just quietly close their eyes in the darkness.
I feel their presence float up to my eyes in the chaos of the world.
With a gulp of breath, I document them as they float through space.
Like putting needles into them like specimens that will remain beautiful forever.
Is what floats in front of me a body or a soul?
I stand in a dimension where even the boundary between life and death has almost disappeared.
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 “The Sea of Oblivion” (2022, KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY, Tokyo), “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).