Yamagami Shimpei
Exhibition
February 14, 2025
Echoes of Unseen

February 14 – 22, 2025
Invitation only

 

 

“I know no place colder than Saga
 
Not cold in terms of weather
 
But cold in the heart”

Most of those photographs were blurred
 
That trembling was not from the cold
 
It was reverence for the unseen that caused it”

I know no place colder than Saga
 
Not cold in terms of weather
 
But cold in the heart
 
The snowy, frigid season heightens its purity
 
When a serene yet alien gravity visits the mind, life begins to tremble
 
Something inexplicable dwelling in the magnetic field steals the warmth from my heart
 
In the mountains, a sound like distilled human emotions continues to roar
 
I realize that souls refined through long ages still live here
 
What exactly am I seeing, what am I perceiving?
 
Is it Saga’s life that entices, or Saga’s death that beckons?
 
As I step into this otherworld, I lose sense of who I am
 
Shivering between madness and solace, I press the shutter once
 
Never have I so longed for the warmth of human body heat
 
Somewhere, I even find comfort in being able to desire someone else’s warmth
 
Most of those photographs were blurred
 
That trembling was not from the cold
 
It was reverence for the unseen that caused it
 
When I finally believed this, I at last let out a deep breath

 

 

– Yamagami Shimpei

Saga House exhibition installation shots: Yamagami Shimpei

The exhibition travels to Shibunkaku Ginza, April 18 – 26, 2025.

Yamagami Shimpei
Photographer
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1984, Yamagami Shimpei is a Japanese photographer known for his introspective works that explore the intersection of nature, human emotion, and the unseen. His photography books include Helix (2022), liminal (eyes) YAMAGAMI (2023), and KANON (2024). Solo exhibitions include 0189 (SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE/Youngtree Press, Tokyo, 2017), Shimpei Yamagami Exhibition (Shibunkaku, Tokyo and Kyoto, 2019), Helix (minä perhonen, Tokyo and Kyoto, 2022), liminal (eyes) (POETIC SCAPE, Tokyo, 2023), and KANON (Tokyo, Aomori, Fukuoka, Kyoto, 2024). Yamagami’s work has been featured in group exhibitions at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and showcased at Paris Photo in 2024, marking a significant milestone in his growing international recognition.