YUKIKOMIZUTANI is pleased to announce the solo exhibition of Masayoshi Nojo “Stillness” from April 24 (Sat) to June 12 (Sat). In this exhibition, which will also be his first solo exhibition with YUKIKOMIZUTANI, Nojo will present the entirity of his Mirage series including recent large works. In addition to the Mirage series, there will also be a Tsuitate (Japanese partitions) using silver foils, which were exhibited at last year’s Meiji Jingu Forest Festival of Art.

“Inspired by natural phenomena such as mirages and auroras, I attempt to create a unique “phenomenon” on the paintings. By deconstructing images I photographed and reconstructing them on the screen with silver foils while incorporating coincidence and phenomena, I transform the image as information into a visual experience that appeals more to one’s perception. The shifting scenery on the painting under the influence of light and space becomes an optical phenomenon that is visible but intangible, abstracting the factuality of the photographic image. It is as if the contours of the world are disappearing, and the relationship between the parts and the whole is in a state of flux. When confronted with the nebulous images that emerge in this way, the “image of nature” in people’s subconscious may be evoked, and the distance and relationship between people and nature may emerge.” – Masayoshi Nojo

In the Mirage series presented at this exhibition, Nojo creates a visual experience of the relationship between the sense of time and memory by deconstructing his own photographic images and reconstructing them on the screen with silver foils while incorporating coincidences and phenomena. Using silver foils, Nojo’s works are affected by the surrounding environment and light. In an environment with natural light, the appearance of the figure changes from rainy to sunny days, and from morning to night. It shows how there is a passage of time within the work, just as there is a passage of time in the world in which we live in. Under the influence of the surrounding environment, Nojo’s work becomes more of a phenomenon, and the information in the motifs becomes more abstract as it emerges in front of the viewer.

With an interest in memory in society (collective memory), Nojo has pursued the theme of “human memory and the passage of time” using silver foils. In the Mirage series, the photographs lose their original factuality and concreteness, giving the work a vague impression that everyone has seen it somewhere before. The works created in this unique way are connected to the viewer’s deepest memories, creating a sense of “deja vu” in the mind. In front of a shifting work of art, resembling a mirage, the viewer will unconsciously trace their own memories beyond the time axis.