JAPONÉSIANAOKI ISHIKAWA

The Japonesia exhibition represents
the beginning of a promisingpartnership between Museu Oscar
Niemeyer (MON) and Japan House
São Paulo.
Naoki Ishikawa is considered to be
one of the most relevant artists ofcontemporary photography in Japanand his inspiring work offers visitorsa unique expedition through an
unknown Japan.
A particular aspect of Naoki’s
exceptional work is the fact that heworks with film photography, further
emphasizing the colors in developedimages. This is how he portrays to thepublic the interaction between natureand people and their cultural features.
This exhibition is a unique
opportunity to see Japan throughthe sensitive eye of one of its main
photographers. An artist who isinternationally known and awarded,
here, Naoki focuses on imagesof more than 20 islands from thearchipelago, thus reinforcing thestrong connection Japan has withthe ocean.
The exhibition title, “Japonesia”,also highlights the fact that Japan isa group of islands.
As the first cultural institution tohave established a partnership withJapan House São Paulo, MON is,
therefore, paying a special tributeto the thousands of Japanesedescendants living in the State ofParaná – a state that ranks second in
this population in Brazil.

Juliana Vellozo Almeida Vosnika
CEO - Museu Oscar NiemeyerA first-person
perspective

Japonesia is the opportunity tosee Japan through the eyes of thetraveling artist Naoki Ishikawa, in a
first-person perspective, as if unveiling
pieces of his travel diaries andmemories through images.
Here, we have the opportunity todiscover new landscapes, to recognize
many other places, or to be surprisedby the singularity of hyper popularized
and almost saturated locations, suchas the emblematic Mount Fuji.
In spite of having seen countless
reproductions or even visited themythical Japanese mountain, Naoki’s
visual installation, which is composedof frames, moments, and angles,
shows us the rich and powerful resultsof the passage of time: one’s innersense of time, the exact momentof each experience, and even theobserver’s state of mind.

From the exhibition visual tour at theMuseu Oscar Niemeyer, we perceive
Japan as a country with a wide varietyof scenarios that undergoes spectacularaesthetic transformations not only due to its geographicallocation , but also due to remarkable passage of seasons.
Naoki shares the curious and personal viewpoints of
his adventures and explorations. At the height of digitaldependence, he works with analog photography anddevelops his films manually, establishing an intimate
relationship with the subject depicted through the act ofphotography and the materiality of the paper.
The famous maxim ‘No man is an island’ (John Donne,1624) is masterly symbolized by the concept of Japonesia.
At a time when the world is in forced isolation, therecollection of Japan as a cluster of islands and the sea as
the element to unify this chain of lands performing like apatchwork of history and tradition is extremely poetic.
The year 2020, marked by the need of isolation andbarriers, is also a testimony of the power of relationships
and exchanges.
Japonesia opened on the very same day Japan House São
Paulo reopened its doors for the public, in October 2020,
after long months without being able to welcome visitors

– the core of its existence and ourgreatest patrimony. The opportunity toshowcase Japan House São Paulo’s
first itinerant exhibition to the publicin Curitiba, in an institution of scaleand remarkable work such as Museu
Oscar Niemeyer, is of immense
symbolic value. This achievement wasonly made possible because of theinvolvement and commitment of both
institutions teams who worked hardand passionately, highlighting thevalue of unity.
Japonesia expresses the beauty ofencounters and awakens a longing for
new perspectives and discoveries.

Natasha Barzaghi Geenen
Cultural Director
at Japan House São Pauloand curator of the exhibition

Born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1977, Naoki Ishikawa
is a photographer. He earned a BA in fine arts
from Waseda University, and an MA and a
PhD from the University of Tokyo.
Ishikawa’s work is centered on Japan’s
landscapes, including both nature and people.
As a travelling artist, he researches the places
to be photographed before setting out toimmortalize, through analog photography,
the land, the people, and the traditionaland contemporary cultural elements thatmake those places special. He is interested
in anthropology, customs and folklore. He
exhibits the work arising from travelling toboth large cities and more secluded areas.
His work has been shown in many countries,including France, Italy, Germany, andCanada. He has won several awards forhis photographs. The Photographic Societyof Japan recognized him as Emerging
Artist in 2008 and, in 2020, he was given a
Lifetime Achievement Award, for remarkable
photographic work over time. His work is
included in public collections in Asian andNorth American institutions, such as theMuseum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (Tokyo,Japan), Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts
(Shanghai, China), Cleveland Clinic (Ohio,United States), among others.
Naoki Ishikawa is also renowned for hisbooks. The highlight is his children’s book,published in Japan in 2020, about a Sherpa
boy who wants to climb Mount Everest.
Sherpa is an ethnic group originally fromTibet and Nepal. (シ ェ ル パ の ポ ル パ
エ ベ レ スト に の ぼ る or Porpa, theSherpa Boy who Climbed Mount Everest, freetranslation into English).

Japonésia
Naoki Ishikawa

achievement

ROOM 7
TO 11 APR 2021

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