Group Exhibition "i 　am　an　'object'"

Dates: March 10 (Fri) — April 12 (Wed), 2017

Organizing Coordinator: Amanda Ling-Ning Lo

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Zen Foto Gallery is pleased to present the photography exhibition i am an ‘object’ from March 10 to April 4 featuring works by Tamiko Nishimura, Emi Anrakuji, Hideka Tonomura, Tokyo Rumando, YiYi Wan and Ting Cheng. Taking the concept ‘object’ as a key focal point, this exhibition investigates relationships between viewers and objects in photography through the eyes of six artists with different socio-cultural and biographical backgrounds.

The word “object” consists of a whole variety of meanings depending on its context. Generally, an “object” can be understood as a “purpose” or “target” and also be widely referred to as anything that can be “recognized”, “imagined”, or “observed”; In grammar it can be referred to as the “receiver” of an action as a noun while as a verb, the word expresses “disagreement”; In the world of photography, an object can be referred to the “subject being photographed” or a “material thing”, which reminds us of the object’s inseparable and interactive relationship with the subject or the viewer.

This exhibition features works of: artist photographing a subject with a subjective concept, artist observing the ‘self’ in the process of self-exploration, artist portraying the impression of objects through observation, artist confronting with the reality by capturing surrounding objects, artist being both the object and subject in photographs, artist composing the impression of subject with material objects, and so forth. Through multiple ways of seeing, this exhibition attempts to explore the meaning of “object” featured in each work, its relevant context, as well as how each “object” is perceived by the viewers.

禪攝影藝廊將於二〇一七年三月十日至四月四日舉辦「i am an ‘object’」攝影展，參展藝術家有西村多美子、Emi Anrakuji、殿村任香、Tokyo Rumando、萬一一、鄭婷。本展圍繞具多重字義的『object』為關鍵字，透過六位不同社會文化和生長背景的攝影藝術家創作題材中的『object』，思索觀看者與『object』之間的關係。

『object』一詞所包涵的意義往往隨立場而決定其對應語意。廣義地解析『object』字義時，可被解讀為「對象」或「目標」；解釋為「客體」時，泛指觀者所感知或想像到的任何事物；作為文法中的「受詞」，指一個動作的「接受者」；作動詞使用時則帶有「抗拒」之意。將『object』套用於觀察攝影作品時，既可作為「（被）拍攝對象」或「物體」、也可聯想其與主體(Subject)或觀者(Viewer)間的對應關係。此次參展作品中包括：攝影師以主觀方式觀看她者、自我探索過程中攝影師將自己作為觀察對象、透過觀看行為描繪被觀對象的意象、透過他者與現實對峙、攝影師同時為拍攝主體和被攝體、以物件組合進行觀察對象的形象構成等作品。本展欲透過不同的觀看方式來思索各組作品中『object』所包涵的意義及其對應立場，而觀者又如何看待各作品中的『object』。

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Artist Profile

Tamiko NISHIMURA

Born in 1948 in Tokyo, Nishimura graduated from Tokyo Photography College (current Tokyo Visual Arts) in 1969. Her graduation work was a photography series of Jōkyō Gekijo (Situation Theatre), forefront of the underground theatre movement led by Jūrō Kara. After her graduation, she met Daido Moriyama, Kōji Taki and Takuma Nakahira, three highly influential members of the Provoke movement. She assisted them in the darkroom from time to time up between 1969 and 1970, while she continued her personal shooting on her travels. Later in 1973, Nishimura made her debut through the first publication “Shikishima” published by Tokyo Photography College, showcasing her photographs taken from 1969 to 1972 on her journeys around Japan including Hokkaidō, Tōhoku, Hokuriku, Kantō, Kansai and Chūgoku regions. She also began to travel to Southeastern Asia and Europe in the 1980s. Nishimura’s language of expression is poetic, spiritual and deeply personal. Looking back on her career, Nishimura describes it as a sequence of journeys, and she continued photographing with her nomadic lifestyle. Her photography, revealing what is beyond a journey, is a manifold portrait of life wherever she encounters.

Her main publications are “Shikishima” (Tokyo Photography College, 1973. Reprinted by Zen Foto Gallery in 2014), “vent calmoso” (Sokyu-sha, 2005), “Existence 1968-69” (graficamag, 2011), “Eternal Chase” (graficamag, 2012), “Kittenish...” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2015), “My Journey” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2018) and “Voyage” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2019), “My Journey II. 1968–1989“ (Zen Foto Gallery, 2019), and “My Journey III. 1993-2022“ (Zen Foto Gallery, 2022). Her works are included in the collection of M+ museum (Hong Kong).

Tokyo Rumando

Tokyo Rumando was born in 1980 in Tokyo. Self-taught, she began shooting photographs in 2005 and mainly focuses on self-portraits. Active in and out of Japan, her series “Orphée” was a part of the group exhibition “Performing for the Camera” at Tate Modern (London) in 2016, and her solo exhibition “The Story of S” was held at Museum Folkwang (Essen, Germany) in 2020. Her solo exhibitions include, ”I’m only happy when I’m naked” (Ibasho Gallery, Antwerp, 2018; Taka Ishii Gallery Photography Paris, 2016); “S” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2018); “Orphée” (Tokyo Light Room, Place M, Zen Foto Gallery, Tokyo, 2014); “REST 3000~ STAY 5000~” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2012); “Hotel Life” (Place M, Tokyo, 2012). Her photobooks include S (2018); selfpolaroids (2017), Orphée (2014), and Rest 3000~ Stay 5000~ (2012), all published by Zen Foto Gallery. In July 2021, Tokyo Rumando will participate in the group exhibition “Tokyo: Art & Photography” at Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Hideka TONOMURA

Born in 1979, Hideka Tonomura graduated from the Broadcasting and Filmmaking Department of Osaka Visual Arts School and began photography in 2002. She published her first photobook “Mama Love” in 2008 with Akaaka Art Publishing, revealing her deepest pain and her family’s dark, hidden secrets, which made an unforgettable impression on the public. In 2013 she published “They Called Me Yukari” with Zen Foto Gallery, documenting the life and people around her when she worked as a hostess in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. Her other publications include “Orange Elephant” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2015), “cheki” (Morel Books, 2018), “die of love” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2018), “SHINING WOMAN #cancerbeauty” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2020), “mama 恋 love” [New Edition] 
(Zen Foto Gallery, 2021), “Toxic” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2022) and “They Called Me Yukari [New Edition] (Zen Foto Gallery, 2023).

Actively presenting her work in and out of Japan, she participated in the group exhibitions 
“Shikijo: Eroticism in Japanese Photography”, Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong (2016); 
Daiwa Foundation Japan House Gallery, London (2018); “10/10 Celebrating Contemporary Japanese Women Photographers”, Kyotographie, Kyoto (2022), “Love Songs”, La MEP – La Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2022), and the Arles International Photography Festival Associate Programme “Transcendence” (2024).

Tonomura launched the “SHINING WOMAN PROJECT” in 2019, a portrait project dedicated to women fighting cancer. In 2022, her debut work “Mama Love” was collected by the MEP – La Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris.

Publications & Prints

S

Tokyo Rumando