Japanese artist opens decade-long photo project in Tartu
The exhibition "40–42" by Japanese photographer Narihiro Matsumoto, on display at Tartu's MIGA Kunstiruum, caps a ten-year creative effort. It runs until October 25.
Japanese artist Narihiro Matsumoto's solo exhibition "40–42" opened on Wednesday at the MIGA Kunstiruum gallery in Tartu. The show presents a photo series that marks the culmination of a ten-year creative journey.
As with all of Matsumoto's work, the series was created in real spaces, using physical objects and actual weather and lighting conditions. The artist emphasizes that what matters to him is that he has seen the objects and landscapes in his images with his own eyes. In an age when photographs are easily manipulated, people often become suspicious, but he says it doesn't matter to him whether they believe the images; the very act of creating the work is a gift.
Estonian audiences first encountered Matsumoto through his 2023 solo exhibition "35–39" at the Haki gallery, also in Tartu. That was followed by a two-month residency at the Voronja gallery in Varnja, on the shore of Lake Peipus. It was there that he found one of the hidden starting points for the new series: walking across the frozen lake and the endless white landscape left an unforgettable impression on him. Although he had never seen such a landscape before, it somehow felt familiar. He hopes viewers will also sense the influence of Lake Peipus in the new exhibition, even though it is expressed through emotion rather than direct visual motifs.
"40–42" was completed over a much longer period — ten years — and as such it brings an important chapter of his artistic practice to a close. The artist described the series as a point stretching into a line, with a space filled with silence, something rough and violent nearby, and a color journey through orange and magenta to blue. He said he was happy to present the final part of a series he began a decade ago.
Matsumoto believes art does not always have to demand explanations from its audience. He would be happy if people looked at his works the same way they look at the sea or a lake, or the way they sit quietly on a park bench without feeling the need to think too much. The exhibition "40–42" will be on display until October 25.
