The 23rd “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 five 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 designers selected in the initial round and the judges. For this group exhibition, each finalist is allocated one wall on which to show his or her 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 five finalists will give presentations of their works, and the judges will then discuss the relative merits of the five 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-third exhibition in this series brings together an eclectic array of five young photographers. Sei Katori, who grew up near the border between two prefectures, created a visual record, approximately 13 hours long, on the theme of borderlines. Chihiro Kihara pondered the meaning of religious faith based on her own experiences, taking photographs of Buddhist temples and Tibet’s Mount Kailash. Yasuhiro Sakuma took portraits of people he met at the Tama River. Disheng Zeng shot photos of his grandfather’s house in his native China. Manami Hasegawa photographed a rock, mulling over the beliefs and legends associated with it.
Sei Katori
Born in 1998. Graduated from Hosei University, Faculty of Intercultural Communication.
“Back Then, In Takashi’s Car”
This pandemic seems to have made people conscious again of the existence of prefectural borders. But what changes across such borders? This is my attempt to visualize and record prefectural borders, taking hints from my childhood memories.
Chihiro Kihara
Born in 1985. Graduated from Doshisha University, Faculty of Social Studies, Department of Education and Culture.
“Circuit”
All the same I just walked alone, like a rhinoceros’s horn. This circuit, in which I confront my objective itself, was open as though there is a connection between me and everything else.
Yasuhiro Sakuma
Born in 1991. Graduated from Japan Institute of Photography and Film.
“Standing by the white water channel”
Our existence continuously wavers, like the image of a fish that appears and disappears in an instant on the surface of the Tama River, in a nameless water channel in an area separated by words and body.
Disheng Zeng
Born in 1995. Currently studying at Tokyo College of Photography.
“Distant echo”
In this photo I expressed a “distant echo” as the ambiguous impression of “home” and scenery seen again in real life.
Manami Hasegawa
Born in 1993. Graduated from Tokyo Polytechnic University, Department of Photography.
“Entwining a Rock”
Here is a rock that washed ashore 24,000 years ago, wound up with legends and beliefs. It struck me that photographing that rock resembles how the people of old attached meaning – their legends, beliefs, etc. – to rocks.
Born in Machida, Tokyo in 1998.
Graduated from Hosei University in 2021, with a degree in Intercultu...
Chihiro Kihara
Chihiro Kihara was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1985.
She graduated from Doshisha University’s Faculty of Social Studies, Department of Education and Culture.
In 2018, she was awarded a Special Prize at the Shiogama Photo Festival.
In 2021, she received the 1st Fugensha Photo Award Grand Prize as well as the Grand Prize at the 23rd “1_WALL” Photography Competition.
Judges (in Japanese syllabary order)
Masashi Kohara（Curator）
As a curator at the Izu Photo Museum, he has organized exhibitions including “Nobuyoshi Araki Photobook Exhibition: Ararchy,” “Manabu Miyazaki: The Pencil of Nature” and “Tazuko Masuyama: Until Everything Becomes a Photograph.” He also curated “It’s a Small World: Imperial Festivals and Human Exhibitions.” He directed the documentary film “The Man Who Became a Camera: Photographer Takuma Nakahira,” and is recipient of the Koen Shigemori Photography Critic Award and The Photographic Society of Japan’s Scholastic Achievement Award, among others. He is an Associate Professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University and a Part-time lecturer at Kanagawa University and others.
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.
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.
Nao Tsuda（Photographer）
Born in Kobe in 1976. Traveling the globe, through his camera lens he continuously depicts the ongoing relationship between man and nature tracing back to ancient times. Since 2001 the focus of his work has been numerous exhibitions both in Japan and abroad. His photo collections include SMOKE LINE (AKAAKA), Storm Last Night (AKAAKA) and Elnias Forest (handpicked). He currently serves as a Visiting Professor at Osaka University of Arts.
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).
Organizer: Guardian Garden
