In conjunction with the solo exhibition celebrating the first publication of drawings by Rikako Kawauchi, VIEWINGROOM will present the photography by Kawauchi in parallel with the exhibition that presents only drawings. Kawauchi, who has been taking photographs on a daily basis for some time now, participated in a group exhibition once in 2019 that featured only her photographic work. It’s a medium that hasn’t been presented often, but for Kawauchi, it seems to be a material that is as natural as drawing, but nestled in a different way.

In this issue of VIEWINGROOM, we would like to introduce just a few of the many photographs that Kawauchi has been taking, with some words about her photography from the artist, Rikako Kawauchi.

– What is photography to you?

Drawing, painting, and sculpture, each has its own unique style. Photography is one of them and I sometimes take them.

– What is the difference between drawing and painting? Also the relationship?

Photography may be more of an encounter than drawing or painting.
In drawing and painting, there are times when an image suddenly rises out of the movement of my hand, or a space is created. But with photography, everything begins with an encounter to an exciting scene in front of me. That may be the difference. Also, because I press the shutter button without looking at the screen too much, I can look back at it later and see how I got the shot. I don’t look at the viewfinder or the screen too much because I’m trying to take the picture with a sense of speed and not over-compose the picture. It is true that there is an object I want to photograph, but I feel as if I am shooting through the camera to capture the subject, wiping out the medium of the camera before I am aware of the square frame of the photograph or the object with my eyes or mind. I think this sense of speed is common to both drawing and painting.

– At what moment do you release the shutter?

When I encounter a moment of inspiration, an object or a scene, or a scene that somehow feels different from what I have always seen, I press the shutter button with a sense of solidifying my perspective. This is the same feeling I get when I draw food, and I get an inspiration when the object in front of me looks like something other than itself, or when it is superimposed on something that is not itself. It’s like a moment when you can see beyond your own stereotypes and see it in its rawness. But that perspective, that way of seeing, may not last, and the scene in front of me moves on, so I want that different atmosphere and time to solidify and bring it back to me at any moment. That might be the reason I draw and photograph it, and leave it behind.

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The drawing exhibition at the “OIL by Bijutsu Techo” gallery (Shibuya Parco 2F) will include a zine published by BT PRESS, featuring lots of photos by Rikako Kawauchi that will be on sale at the same time! (to be available from November 31)

Rikako Kawauchi『Round Time』
Published by BT PRESS
Design & Edit by Taishi Nishihiro (SIDE CORE)
Edition 30
©︎2020 BT PRESS, Rikako Kawauchi

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All the photography works shown below are available for sale.
The sizes, editions and prices of each are below.

inkjet print
3 different sizes, Ed. of 5 (A.P.2) for each size, no price step up :
119x89mm (DSL) – 30,000JPY+Tax
178x127mm（2L）- 50,000JPY+Tax
1189x841mm（A0）- 200,000JPY+Tax