Starting July 7 (Tue) Guardian Garden will host the 22nd “1_WALL” Photography Exhibition, part of an open competition for the right to mount a solo show at the gallery. 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 their works.
Live streaming of the final round of judging will take place while the exhibition is in progress. During this round, which is open to the public, the six finalists will give presentations about their 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 300,000 yen to prepare for the show.
The twenty-second exhibition in this series brings together an eclectic array of young photographers. Akane Ito took self-portraits during weekend travels. Momoko Komatsu thematically addressed the contradictions and madness in our daily lives. Chihiro Gompei visually expressed human behavior and relationships pivoted around the theme of sharing, or not sharing, a cultural background. Sachiko Saito shot photos of the community of Kurds living in Japan. Kyosuke Sasaki photographed an underground bunker left by the Japanese Army. Hsueh Da-Yung focused his work on Taiwan’s compulsory military training.
Akane Ito
Born in 1996. Graduated from Musashino Art University’s College of Creative Thinking for Social Innovation, Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences.
“(Last) Weekend Utopia Travel”
On weekends the road to utopia opens. “Glad you could come. I was waiting for you,” she (I) said. Where do you want to spend the last weekend of your life?
Momoko Komatsu
Born in 1997. Graduated from Tokyo Polytechnic University’s Faculty of Arts, Department of Photography.
“https://pesadilla.img”
I shoot scenes that are somehow frightening. I want to hint at the fears and contradictions filling our everyday lives that we aren’t aware of. As times change, so too do our environment, how we live as humans, and the relationships between humans.
Chihiro Gompei
Born in 1985. Completed an MA in Textiles at Royal College of Art, London.
“How does your body feel?”
By having house plants, she may have been trying to set down her own roots. The orchid flowers lost by Hee-young will stay in my memory “as an Asian woman.”
Sachiko Saito
Born in 1985. Graduated from Nihon University, College of Art, Department of Photography.
“Jîn”
“Kurds living in Japan.” Setting aside the various words used to describe them, I seriously approach them as individual human beings, focusing on how the young ones I meet are living their lives.
Kyosuke Sasaki
Born in 1985. Graduated from Nihon University, College of Art, Department of Photography.
“Space”
I envision the spaces that spread out beneath our feet.
Hsueh Da-Yung
Born in 2000. Graduated from KTC Ozora High School.
“This is how I was found”
Military service in Taiwan, having largely lost a sense of the reality of war, today is treated merely as a coming-of-age ritual for men. I unravel where we stand in a society in which a gap in awareness exists between such a system and real life.
Akane Ito was born in Iwate Prefecture in 1996. She graduated from Musashino Art University’s Colleg...
Born in 1997. Graduated from Tokyo Polytechnic University’s Faculty of Arts, Department of Photograp...
Born in 1985. Completed an MA in Textiles at Royal College of Art, London.
Born in 1985. Graduated from Nihon University, College of Art, Department of Photography.
1985 Born in Sendai, JAPAN
2007 Graduated from photography department, Nihon University College ...
Born in 2000. Graduated from KTC Ozora High School.
Judges (in Japanese syllabary order)
Ryo Sawayama（Art Critic）
Born in 1982. In 2007 he completed a Master of Art degree at Musashino Art University Graduate School of Science of Design. In 2009, his essay “Labor-work: Carl Andre and His Concept of Art Making” was selected for first prize in the 14th Art Critic Essay Contest organized by BIJUTSUTECHO. He teaches part-time at both Musashino Art University and Tokyo Metropolitan University, and is a frequent contributor to articles, magazines, etc.
Yoshihisa Tanaka（Graphic Designer and Artist）
Born in 1980. His major work to date includes VI planning for Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and other cultural facilities, art direction of the POST bookshop and the TOKYO ART BOOK FAIR, and periodic creation of works as an artist. He is also active as half of the artist duo “Nerhol,” together with sculptor Ryuta Iida.
Rika Noguchi（Photographer）
Born in 1971 in Saitama City, currently living in Naha, Okinawa. In 1994 she graduated from Nihon University’s College of Art, Department of Photography. She began production of photographic works during he university years, and has been active both in Japan and abroad mainly with exhibitions of her works. She has also participated in numerous international exhibitions of contemporary art, most recently the 21st Biennale of Sydney, “SUPERPOSITION: Equilibrium & Engagement” (2018).
Kimi Himeno（Principal and director of AKAAKA Art Publishing）
Established AKAAKA Art Publishing in 2006. To date the company has published more than 200 books, mainly photo books and art books. Publications include many recipients of the Kimura Ihei Award: Lieko Shiga (“CANARY” 2007); Atsushi Okada (“I am” 2007); Masashi Asada (“Asadake” 2008); Cozue Takagi (“MID” 2009; “GROUND” 2009); Arata Dodo (“Taigan” 2012); Ryuichi Ishikawa (“A Grand Polyphony” 2014; “okinawan portraits 2010-2012” 2014); and Aya Fujioka (“Here Goes River” 2017). Since 2018 she is also a professor at Osaka University of Arts.
Rei Masuda（Chief curator at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo）
Born in Kobe in 1968. Completed the graduate course in Area Studies at the University of Tsukuba. Since 1992 he has worked at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT). Among exhibitions he has curated in recent years are: “Josef Koudelka Retrospective” (2013), “Narahara Ikko: Domains” (2014), and “Thomas Ruff” (2016).
Organizer: Guardian Garden
