Emerging Artists Exhibition: Eriko Masaoka — Rowing the Journey Forward
at Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography Nara City
07/01/2023 – 09/10/2023
Starting in early summer 2023, I participated in an Emerging Artists Exhibition at the Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography in Nara City, Japan.
It was a two-person exhibition with Shogo Yamada.
I exhibited two series: a black-and-white series titled "In the Flap of a Bird's Wing, Water Dries Up" and a color series titled "Rowing the Journey Forward."
"Rowing the Journey Forward" is an ongoing color photography series that, at the time of the exhibition, spanned approximately seven years, but has since grown to cover about nine years.
In 2017, I left Japan and lived in Munich, Germany for five years, then moved to a small village in France where I have lived for three years.
This series captures major life changes during this period, including the birth and growth of my children, the pandemic, the bereavement of my husband’s younger brother, and my separation from my husband.
The series is structured with an essay-like narrative woven throughout, aiming to tell the ongoing story of a woman, her family, and the unfolding journey of life.
All photographs in this series were shot using a smartphone.
The images exhibited are arranged chronologically, and some photographs include notes of memories from the time written below them.
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「目の前の川で漕ぐ」は、展示当時は約7年間にわたって続いているカラー写真シリーズでしたが、その後現在も継続しており、
約9年間に及ぶシリーズに成長しています。
2017年に日本を離れ、ドイツのミュンヘンに5年間住み、その後フランスの小さな村に移り3年、現在もそこで暮らしています。
このシリーズは、その間に起こった大きな人生の変化、子どもたちの誕生と成長、パンデミック、夫の弟の死別、そして夫との別れを綴っています。
エッセイのような文章を織り交ぜながらの構成、一人の女性とその家族、そして人生の展開や歩みを追い続ける物語を目指しています。
シリーズの写真はすべてスマートフォンで撮影されました。
展示されている写真は年代順に並べられ、写真の下には当時の記憶が記されています。
Rowing the Journey Forward / 目の前の川で漕ぐ
Pigment Prints exhibited
