Tamiko Nishimura "My Journey Since Then"

Dates: November 4 (Fri) — November 26 (Sat), 2022

Event: Slide Presentation and Talk Session [Tamiko Nishimura and Masakazu Murakami]: November 19 (Sat) 16:00– (Reservation Required; Participation Fee 1,000 yen; Available only in the Japanese language)

Zen Foto Gallery is pleased to announce Tamiko Nishimura’s photo exhibition “My Journey Since Then”, the final chapter to her “My Journey” trilogy, following the exhibitions “My Journey (Ryojin)” in 2018 and “My Journey, continued” in 2020. The exhibition will mainly feature Nishimura’s snapshots taken during her trips in and out of Japan from the 1990s to the most recent in 2022, as well as a selection of her representative work from her series “Shikishima” and “Eternal Chase” from the early 1970s.

Throughout her career of over half a century from around 1968 when she first started taking photographs to the present day when digital photography has become the mainstream worldwide, Nishimura has continued to photograph with film and make her own prints in the darkroom. This exhibition will feature approximately 25 prints and most of them are her original hand-printed prints.

Since around 1968 when I was a photography student, I have been freely taking photos of scenes, people, and things that intrigue me. I have truly enjoyed the experience. In 1968, I took stage photos for the Jōkyō Gekijō [Situation Theatre], a troupe led by Jūrō Kara. In the beginning, I learned that simply pressing the shutter would not allow me to capture anything of the actors who could easily break through boundaries. The only way I could photograph was to fix my gaze on them and look as hard as I could, to the extent that I could go beyond the lens and collide with the actors. Over two years, I took photos of all the performances I could possibly attend. Photos taken during that period were published as a book under the title Existence in 2011.
One of my favourite photographers is Josef Koudelka. When I saw his photos of the gypsies for the first time, I was not only touched but also shocked by his sincere perspective on the subjects. I felt that I saw the ideal way for me to face my subjects. I went to the Czech Republic in 2011. In August 1968, Koudelka had taken photos in Prague of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, led by the Soviet Union. I wanted to take photos in Wenceslas Square, where his renowned photo from Invasion 68, Prague of an arm with a wristwatch in the foreground and the National Museum at the end of the square was taken. Although what I took, in the end, was the back of a woman instead of a wristwatch. [...]
Starting from the Situation Theatre troupe, I have encountered many people with outstanding characters and I have travelled to different places to take photos. I have a feeling that I am still en route.
—— Excerpts from Tamiko Nishimura’s Afterword on My Journey III. 1993–2022

In conjunction with this exhibition, Zen Foto Gallery will publish My Journey III. 1993–2022 as then final sequel of the My Journey trilogy. Ever since the publication of My Journey, the first book of the trilogy in 2018, Zen Foto Gallery has comprehensively showcased Nishimura’s unpublished work from her early to recent years, reflecting her consistent stance towards photography. We would like to invite you to take this opportunity to take a look at Nishimura’s impressive body of work created from her ongoing journey.

[Event Info]

November 19 (Sat) 16:00–
Slide Presentation: “My Journey 1968–2021” (No Audio, 20 minutes)
Talk Session between Tamiko Nishimura and Masakazu Murakami (Editor-in-Chief of Shashin Magazine, Photographer), hosted by Amanda Lo (Planning Coordinator) **Reservation Required; Participation Fee 1,000 yen; Available only in Japanese language

For the first time in Japan, Zen Foto Gallery will screen Tamiko Nishimura’s slide presentation My Journey 1968–2021. The work was a part of the large-scale group exhibition “trust & confusion” held in Tai Kwun Contempory, Hong Kong in 2021. We will also hold a talk session with Masakazu Murakami, the Editor-in-Chief of Shashin Magazine [in Japanese language only].

SPECIAL EDITION — My Journey I, II, III Bound in One Volume
A special edition of all three books of My Journey trilogy, bound together in one volume will be available for order, limited to 10 copies. Each of them will be hand-bound in cloth by the craftspeople in Kyoto, and each of them will include a hand-printed print of an unique image by the artist, as well as a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. (Planning and Publication: Zen Foto Gallery｜Design: Amanda Lo｜Binding Supervision: Shokodo Kyoto｜Binding: Oiri Inc. | Edition: 10 + 3AP | RC Print | Clothbound with Black Foil Stamping)

Inquiry for details

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).

Publications & Prints