Since Photography was invented in the 19th century, it has had a variety of effects on society. Now, in the prevailing digital age, in which the cell phone camera has become ubiquitous, perhaps everyone has on hand the means with which to create a photographic image on any given day. However, because this imagery has become so commonplace, it is difficult for us to recall “the photograph” that came before digital and instead it seems we have entered the era in which the image is obtained from the thoughtless push of a shutter. This exhibition, in this era, was planned with the intention of asking again (and again) “What is a photograph?”
In 2007, the exhibition “The Photograph: What You See & What You Don’t” was held to examine themes involving the important ambiguity in photographic expressions, the ultra-embodiment of the photograph’s mechanical nature, and the inside and out of the abstracted thought as it relates to the intended photograph. The factual image, and the deeper understanding of the portion of it which is unseen has now become a fundamentally important component. Seven years later on, and with the progress of digital photography and the new possibilities that it has brought, it is time once again to reexamine the idea of “The Photograph”. Although there are technical differences in the processes between the silver-halide photograph, and the digital photograph, when it comes to their representation is there a difference? Even now, it cannot be said that we are 100% satisfied with the material, or that silver-halide photography has reached it’s full maturity, or that digital is approaching perfection, instead we are finding a period of commingling between the two, and in this time, supposing it a plane of technical latitude, it is desirable to investigate the possibilities arising from fresh integrations of the two. Moreover, in the vital creation and presentation of work, respective of society, what is the actual thought that pins the work down? This time, various artists have been gathered, who have been based abroad, but worked with Japan as a theme, with the intention of acting as a modern mirror to project it onto the chopping board: The World and Japan, the world within Japan, the society expressed via “The Photograph” and it’s relationship to the implications it captures. Thus “The Photograph: What You See & What You Don’t #02” is held with the intention of deepening and widening the range of our exploration of “The Photograph”.