Momo Okabe, ILMATAR, 2020, Archival color C-print ©︎ Momo Okabe
Momo Okabe, ILMATAR, 2020, Archival color C-print ©︎ Momo Okabe
Momo Okabe, ILMATAR, 2017 ©︎ Momo Okabe
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Momo Okabe

岡部 桃

ILMATAR

10/10 Celebrating Contemporary Japanese Women Photographers

Supported by KERING’S WOMEN IN MOTION

Curated by
Lucille Reyboz,
Yusuke Nakanishi and
Pauline Vermare

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In her work, Momo Okabe has been looking into issues of gender and identity –her own personal wanderings as well as those of her lovers and friends, who are, as she said, ‘the outsiders of Japanese society.’ This series, ‘ILMATAR’, was produced over the course of six years, a time in which she herself experienced pregnancy and giving birth to a child. In her photographs, she conveys harsh and sometimes violent realities using striking colors -electric and neon hues - that draw us into the lives depicted, in a very cinematic way. In an interview, she explained: ‘As my photography is based on shishosetsu, the Japanese I-novel, it is always made up out of my own, actual, experiences. I don’t decide in advance what I am going to photograph. And while I work from my private life, I hope that my work shares its power with many other people – and that it continues to positively resonate within them as part of their lives, too.’

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10:30 - 17:30

Admission accepted 30 mins before the venue closes.

Adult: ¥1,500
Students: ¥1,200 (Please present your student ID)

Closed: 4/12, 4/19, 4/26

All visitors to the exhibition need to make reservations in advance.
Click here for reservation

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HOSOO FLAGSHIP STORE 2F & 5F, 412, Kakimoto-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Subway Karasuma Line or Tozai Line ”Karasuma Oike” station. 2 min on foot from Exit 6

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10/10 Celebrating Contemporary Japanese Women Photographers

Co-curated by Pauline Vermare, Independent curator and photography historian (formerly cultural director of Magnum Photos and curator at ICP, New York) and Co-founders/Co-directors of KYOTOGRAPHIE, Lucille Reyboz and Yusuke Nakanishi. Through the series shown in the exhibition, we see a reflection and perspective distinctive to each photographer, whether they are living and working in Japan or abroad. These powerful images will be presented in a scenography that embodies the KYOTOGRAPHIE spirit and gives each artist her own customized space, thanks to versatile and sustainable structure, conceived by Kyoto-based designer and architect Hiroyasu Konishi.

This exhibition is supported by Women In Motion, a Kering program that shines a light on the talent of women in the fields of arts and culture. Since 2015, Women In Motion has been a platform of choice for helping to change mindsets and reflect on women’s place and recognition across artistic fields.

Momo Okabe

Graduated from Nihon University College of Art. Momo Okabe’s major awards include the ‘New Cosmos of Photography Special Award’ (selected by Nobuyoshi Araki) (Tokyo, 1999) and the ‘FOAM Paul Huf Award’ (Foam Photography Museum, Netherlands, 2015). She was selected for the KASSEL PHOTOBOOK AWARD (The PhotoBook Museum, Cologne, Germany, 2014) etc. Selected solo shows: Dildo & Bible (Foam Photography Museum, Netherlands; Gallery Naruyama, Tokyo, 2015). Selected group shows: the NUDE exhibition (Fotografiska, Stockholm, 2021; New York, 2022), Know My name (National Gallery of Australia, 2020), Japanese nude photography (Museum Sieboldhuis, Netherlands, 2019 ).
Published photobooks include Il Matal (Mandarake, 2020), BIBLE (Session Press, 2014) , DILDO (Session Press, 2013), and UNSEEN / TSUNAMI (with Kohey Kanno) (Dashwood Books, 2012).

Other Exhibitions

Other Exhibitions

Samuel Bollendorff

Tears of Mermaid

Lake Biwa Canal Museum, Keage Incline

Tamaki Yoshida

Negative Ecology

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  • 10/10 Celebrating Contemporary Japanese Women Photographers