March 21 – July 22, 2016

Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery

Gallery Talk: Wednesday, March 23, 6pm

Reception: Wednesday, March 23, 5-7pm

With her photographic projects, Japanese artist Miki Soejima walks the line between fact and fiction, uncovering the inherent artifice and truths in images, the significance of authorship, and the power of suspended disbelief.

Soejima elaborated her latest project during her Light Work residency last year. The Passenger’s Present combines photographs made in Japan, in 2013 and 2014, with constructed still life images. Together, they allude to narratives, histories, and myths beneath the surface of Japanese society. They include images of a Kamikaze plane, a nuclear reactor, city street scenes, and reappearing rainbows. Soejima composed the still lifes in the studio with carefully folded paper abstractions. Some include small red spheres, which add weight amongst the light paper compositions, especially if one recognizes them as Atomic FireBalls, the American hard candy named after the atomic bomb.

For a viewer, it’s a not a simple or even singular story. Soejima invites us along as she finds significant moments in the movement of contemporary life and within the stillness of the paper compositions. “I think my core interest lies in how narrative context can shape our way of seeing the world and affect how we act,” says Soejima. We must listen closely to her photographs. As a third component, Soejima integrates images from her grandfather’s photo albums, made while he served in Japanese-occupied Manchuria from 1931-1945. She quotes his solemn declaration: “There is nothing to believe anymore.” This project’s underlying tension is war’s immeasurable devastation. Soejima’s images carry a feeling of hopelessness too. Even the recurring rainbows are somehow disconcerting. Soejima’s pictures probe deep into everyday moments where careful looking uncovers both beauty and a very real sadness.

lg.ht/MikiSoejima

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Miki Soejima is a London-based Japanese artist. Soejima’s Mrs. Merryman’s Collection (MACK, 2012) was the recipient of the First Book Award, and is regarded as one of the top photobooks of 2012. Recent exhibitions include The Atkinson Gallery, Southport UK; PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin; Arts Santa Mònica, Barcelona; Michael Hoppen Gallery, London; and World Photography Festival and Sony World Photography Awards, Somerset House, London. Soejima’s work is in the collections of the National Media Museum, Amana Photo Collection, and the Jeremy Cooper Collection. Soejima’s book is included in The Photobook: A History Volume III by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger. Soejima was a Light Work Artist-in-Residence in January 2015.

mikisoejima.com

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Special thanks to Marcia Duprat

marciaduprat.com

Special thanks to Daylight Blue Media

daylightblue.com

Light Work

lightwork.org

Music: Yusuke Tsutsumi

Music: "Vela Vela" by Blue Dot Sessions

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