Photo Miyota – Richmond academic joins internationally renowned artists at Japanese International Photo Festival
The work of Chino Otsuka, Associate Professor of Film and Photography at Richmond, is currently on display at an internationally renowned exhibition – Asama International Photo Festival, being held until 10 November 2019 at the Miyota Museum of Photography in Nagano, Japan.
Miyota, a city located in eastern Nagano prefecture, lies on a plateau in the foothills of Mount Asama. Photo Miyota is an international photography festival, started in anticipation of a new museum of photography now nearing completion in the Miyota city limits.
Chino Otsuka said, “I’m delighted that my work is being shown at this exhibition. The core of my photographic research is based on my autobiographical experience and I use photography and video to explore the fluid and distortable relationship between memory, time and photography. I am particularly interested in the way memory works in relation to snapshot/vernacular photography. This is especially important now as the way we experience photography is undergoing such dramatic change with the proliferation of digital technology for taking and dissemination of photographs.”
Chino Otsuka’s most exhibited work, Imagine Finding Me, which has become internationally acclaimed, has been shown in over sixteen countries.
The works of Chino Otsuka join those of internationally renowned artists both Japanese and from abroad, all being featured within Miyota’s tranquil spaces: the majestic, clarified world of nature that defines the landscape, together with the structures situated within.
Going from astonishingly vast photographs to images redefined as solid, three-dimensional figures, the festival is home to works unusual and uncanny– guests may even find themselves wondering if certain works are photographs at all. The exhibition presents new encounters, and with them, opportunities for viewers to redefine their own preconceptions.
