Exhibition view of Yurie Nagashima "What I was supposed to see and what I saw" at 1223 Gendaikaiga

In the beginning of 90s, Yurie Nagashima received remarkable attention for her iconic girly photographs. After that, she moved to the subject of "family" and continued her creation not only in Japan but world wide. Her works are concieved as "portraits of close people" or "scenery from ordinary daily life".


"Cosmos in three colours" by Yurie Nagashima (2007, c-print, 785 x 555 mm)


"Yellow wild flower"(left) and "Berried wild tree" (right) by Yurie Nagashima (2007, c-print, 1416 x 986 mm)

Most of the works exhibited at this show were taken when she joined the residency program in Village Nomage, Switzerland. As she was inspired from her grandmother's photo of a flower, she walked around the garden of the residence and took pictures of many kinds of flowers. Her works lead a viewer to the impression that she took a portrait of person, not a flower because of her unique stance on how to measure off distance to objects as well as her own view point towards the objects. After her travel to Switzerland, she started to take photographs of flower consciously and visited Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.


"Plants with labels #19" (left), "Plants with labels #32" (middle) and "Plants with labels #6" (right) by Yurie Nagashima (2008, c-print, 945 x 655 mm)


"Plants with labels #18" (left), "Plants with labels #24" (middle) and "Plants with labels #27" (right) by Yurie Nagashima (2008, c-print, 945 x 655 mm)

The photograph of name plate is simply defining the name of the plant and its scientific name but it is also questioning why we need a name to recognize an object. Moreover, it may be suggesting the conceptual-ism of art in the 20th century.


"Pink wild flower" by Yurie Nagashima (2007, c-print, 1416 x 986 mm)


"Roses and firewoods" by Yurie Nagashima (2007, c-print, 1416 x 986 mm)

This photograph series of plant is simple and straight. Although, her concept of "family" which is based of her creativity, can be seen as a metaphor and it is also a main feature of this series. She reminds her grandmother with her photograph of a flower which was left behind and she points her camera at a flower viewing as if it is a human being. This dramatic creation is making the work strong.

[translated the text from 1223 Gendaikaiga]

The book "SWISS" (below) includes Nagashima's photographs of plants, room she stayed and her son which were taken during her residency program in Switzerland. What is interesting of this book is that not only photographs but also her diary, memos and tickets are binded in the book

The book "SWISS" by Yurie Nagashima. You can purchase this book on Amazon.

1223 Gendaikaiga is a gallery run by a collector for the purpose of showing his own collection to public.There will be 4 exhibitions held in a year including paintings and photographs, mainly by Japanese artists. There is a sofa set in the show room and you can enjoy viewing works relaxed.


Exhibition Info
Date: Sept 22, 2011 - Nov 27, 2011
Place: 1223GENDAIKAIGA - Contemporary Painting Collection
Address: SR Hiroo B1, 5-19-4, Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan