Yutaka Kikutake Gallery is pleased to present “Fixed Shadows” a group featuring the works of Koichi Tabata, Nerhol, Kyoko Murase, and Yang Bo.

This autumn, a book titled, KURENBOH –Buddhism and Photography: Akiyoshi Taniguchi and Naoya Hatakeyama (AKAAKA) was released. Yutaka Kikutake Gallery had been responsible for editing this unique publication, which with Buddhist philosophy at its basis serves to consider not only photography, but also art, literature, philosophy, and modern society from a historical perspective, containing numerous valuable hints for us living today and towards the future.

While various keywords are raised in this book, we would like focus on the idea of “shadows” and present a group exhibition on this theme.

In Buddhist philosophy there is the concept that the world does not consist of fixed entities, but is instead created through the occurrence of “karma,” or in other words, the indirect conditions pertaining to each respective moment. Perhaps it is easier to understand through terms such as “uncertainty” or “emptiness.” In the abovementioned book there is a text by Hatakeyama in which he brilliantly elaborates upon this concept in relation to the origins of photography. In brief, he describes a relationship that undermines general understanding, stating that fixed entities do not exist in the world, and what in fact exist are the shadows that remain in the wake of attempting to approach an entity, further mentioning how in contrast to the fluid nature of entities, it is actually the shadows that are fixed. What this indeed reflects is a relationship very close to the workings of art –shadows that are fixed, and remain in the form of artworks. To be emotionally moved when viewing a work of art or being led to contemplate something entirely different are experiences that serve to shake oneself (one’s entity of sorts) through an encounter with shadows. The meaning of such shadows will continue to change depending on the times and the perceived circumstances. Although the works that can be displayed are limited due to issues of space, we hope viewers will embrace the opportunity to think about various things through engaging with the selection of works presented on this occasion.