Yuka Sasahara Gallery

Dec. 26

A photograph without a camera: The concept may sound as naked as a table without legs.

But the creation of images using photographic techniques without an actual camera is the focal point of a new exhibition by artist Saori Miyake.

Entitled "CONSTELLATION 2," the show consists of a series of "photograms" created by placing objects and layers directly onto light sensitive paper. The end result is a collection of strong white images etched in textured layers onto black paper, with occasional splashes of fluoro pink and blue depicting a series of children's book-like scenes.

There are faceless young girls with knee-high socks playing by curtains, skating indoors and clambering on ladders in flooded corridors against backdrops of mountains and open windows.

The dynamic white swirl of figurative images is layered further with small circular motifs that pepper each of the works, which are currently on display the Yuka Sasahara gallery in Kagurazaka.

Bringing to mind a constellation of sprinkled stars, the circular patterns were created by the artist placing an eclectic assortment of buttons, spangles and crystals on the light-sensitive paper before its exposure.

The overall effect is a middle-of-the-night sense of magic with a touch of nostalgia as the action images are as frozen just as they would have been if captured with a camera.

Describing the ethereal nature of the works, the artist says: "I always have an image in my head when I create it in the dark. But when I expose it to light and the picture comes out on paper, it becomes something else. It is an often uncontrollable technique that casts the image into a new reality."

For more information, visit www.yukasasaharagallery.com