Contemporary Arts


Born 1978 in Okayama prefecture (Japan), based in Nagoya (Japan).

Graduated from Musashino Art University's Department of Painting in 2001, followed by postgraduate studies at the Tokyo College of Photography until 2003. Shitamichi is now known for publications based on fieldwork. For instance, during a four year period, he traveled around Japan, surveying and photographing the remains of gun emplacements, fighter hangars, and other military structures, publishing his work as the Bunkers series (2001-2005). He has also photographed Japanese shrine gates remaining in America, Taiwan, Russia, Korea, and other locations from Japanese colonial days, publishing his work as the well-known torii series (2006-2012). His works neither document scenes, nor archive historical facts. Instead, they concern stories that had been largely forgotten, buried by our everyday lives and concerns, or everyday things that are so insignificant that they never reach our subconscious. Shitamichi captures them through methods such as photography, events, and interviews, edits them to give them a tangible existence, and presents (re-presents) them as events that are still relevant to us today. In 2012, Shitamachi won the Gwangju Biennale Noon Award for emerging artists. For Aichi Triennale 2013, he will present new works resulting from fieldwork in Aichi prefecture.

  bridge 2011
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