The 13th “1_WALL” Photography Exhibition is part of an open competition for the right to mount a solo show at Guardian Garden. The exhibition will feature works by six finalists after two rounds of judging: the first round focusing on all entrants’ portfolios, and the second round consisting of one-on-one discussions between the photographers selected in the initial round and the judges. In this group exhibition, each finalist is allocated one wall on which to show his or her works.
The final round of judging will take place on November 4 (Wed), i.e. while the exhibition is in progress. During this round, which is open to the public, the six finalists will each give a presentation of his or her works, and the judges will then discuss the relative merits of the six contenders’ works and select the Grand Prize winner. The winner’s prize is the privilege of holding a solo show at the gallery one year later, plus the right to prepare an exhibition pamphlet.
The photographs selected for this thirteenth exhibition in the series manifest a variety of expressive modes: vivid portraits that seek, through photography, to affirm the question of the photographer’s own sexuality; works that from a unique perspective express, as clippings of everyday things around, the anger lurking in the depths of one’s mind; documentary-style photographs on social issues in Fukushima; works that, from self-portraits and everyday scenes, create worlds apart from reality; snapshots that give visual form to what a friend afflicted with Meniere’s disease must experience; and works that conceptually search for the photographer’s own roots through snapshots taken in India, Nepal, Tokyo and elsewhere, various data posted on the Internet, visual materials and self-penned texts.
We eagerly invite visitors to come and see all of these works by six upcoming young photographers, and to witness which finalist will collect the Grand Prize.
Masashi Urashiba
Born in 1988. Graduated from Visual Arts Osaka with a concentration in Photography.
“I go, the moment I touch it”
To be honest with myself, I wanted to photograph beautiful things. Beautiful things make me want to touch them. Only after touching them do I see them. When I can’t touch them, I see them, too.
Hiroki Urabe
Born in 1985.
“Things that have to be”
To be sensitive to the alien things inarguably there
Mika Sato
Born in 1982. Completed a postgraduate degree in Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts.
“To get close to that day fading into the distance”
Balloons, Kibitan, Bunta Sugawara, heart-shaped cushions, etc., etc., etc. Getting a sense of having seen one thing and many, I record them in photos. The only thing that’s certain is what’s before my eyes, now.
Saeka Somei
Born in 1994. Currently studying Imaging Arts and Sciences at Musashino Art University.
“World Vacuum”
No matter what happens, no matter what it is, what I see are what’s in my heart and mind. Where in the world is this, and what in the world is it?? To this far-off, long-enduring and absurdly close question, I want to answer using photos.
Koichi Mitsuoka
Born in 1990. Currently studying for an advanced degree in Oil Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts.
“Changing, there”
A membrane ruptured, and I felt dizzy.
Russell Scott Peagler
Born in 1980.
“Roots”
When you search for your roots or for the true meaning of things in this world where everything affects everything else, turning over thousands of stones, on rare occasions you come upon the truth. My works bind together photography, poetry, book writing and scholarship.
Final Judging (open to the public)
Wed. May 13, 2015 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
RESERVATION
Opening Party
Wed. May 13, 2015 8:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Born in Osaka in 1988
Graduated from Kansai University, Faculty of Law, Department of Political scie...
Mika Sato
Born in 1982. Completed a postgraduate degree in Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts.
Graduated from Musashino Art University with a degree in Imaging Arts and Sciences. Finalist in the ...
Koichi Mitsuoka
Born in 1990. Completed the Graduate School program of Tokyo University of the Arts.
Judges (in Japanese syllabary order)
Kotaro Iizawa（Photography Critic）
Born in Miyagi Prefecture in 1954. In 1984 he completed a PhD in Art at the University of Tsukuba. From 1990 to 1994 he served as editor-in-chief of the quarterly photography magazine “Deja-vu.” His recent publications include “Photobooks make the history!” (CMS) and “Archive of Contemporary Japanese Photography 2011-2013” (Seikyusha).
Atsuki Kikuchi（Graphic designer）
Born in Tokyo in 1974. He attended Musashino Art University, majoring in Sculpture. In 2000 he established Bluemark, and then in 2011 he founded his own design studio. His work areas include brand planning, logo design, signage planning, editorial design, etc., with a strong focus on art, fashion and architecture. He is also the principal of Book Peak, planners and publishers of art books.
Ryudai Takano（Photographer）
Born in 1963. His major photo books are IN MY ROOM (Sokyusha), How to contact a man (Akio Nagasawa Publishing), Kasubaba (Daiwa Press), α (SUPER DELUXE) and Manazashi ni fureru (Suiseisha). In 2006 he won a Kimura Ihei Award in Photography.
Sayaka Takahashi（Gallery Director of PGI）
Born in Chiba Prefecture. Studied Literature at Waseda University under Osamu Hiraki. In 1998, she participated as a volunteer at the Higashikawa International Photo Festival, and from 2003 through 2010 served as the festival’s on-site production leader and assistant director. Since the winter of 1998, she has been involved in work relating to photographic preservation and display at Photo Gallery International (PGI), where as Director she is in charge of exhibition planning and operation.
Arata Dodo（Photographer）
Born in Osaka in 1974, raised in Nara. In 1995 he won the “Konica Introducing New Generation Photographers” Grand Prix. In 1999 he published the photo book “Ways of Shanghai 1994-1999” (Mole Press). In 2000 he received the Photographic Society of Japan’s Newcomer’s Award; in 2004, the New York ADC Jury’s Special Award; and in 2009, the Japan Advertising Photographers’ Association Outstanding Advertising Award. In 2012 he published the photo book “TAIGAN” (AKAAKA Art Publishing Inc.) and received the 38th Kimura Ihei Award.
Organizer: Guardian Garden
