Artist Talk of Shohei Nishino

22 February 2011, London

Sohei Nishino is a young Japanese photographer whose body of work is centred on the ‘Diorama Map’ project. Supported by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, he came to London last year to take thousands of photographs of the city. His ever-evolving ‘Diorama Map’ project currently includes the ten cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Shanghai, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Istanbul and London. Each unique ‘map’ consists of multiple photographs, taken while walking around urban spaces, which are then pasted into large-scale dioramas, thus depicting his personal impressions of world cities. While Nishino’s works are not 100% geographically accurate, he states: “Through the eyes of an outsider it will be the embodiment of how I remember the city, and a diary of the streets I walk”. Nishino first developed his technique by ‘recreating’ his native Osaka in 2003, by shooting over 150 rolls of film over one month, then piecing together the photographs with scissors and glue over three months, re-shaping the city as he remembered it. The resulting ‘aerial view’ effect offers the viewer a glimpse into the artist’s own understanding of the urban space around him.

“I am deeply committed and passionate about photography. I believe that photography is a way of looking at the self. Rather than thinking about what I can do with photography, I take pictures in a quest to see what I can become through photography”. – Sohei Nishino.

‘The Diorama Map’, Nishino’s European debut, will be exhibited at Michael Hoppen Gallery, London, from 24 February to 2 April 2011.

Sohei Nishino was born in Osaka in 1982 and graduated from Osaka University of the Arts in 2004. Since then he has exhibited his works in cities throughout Japan, and more recently in Hong Kong, in addition to winning the ‘President Award’, Osaka University of Arts (2004), ‘Young Eye Japanese Photographer Association Award’ (2005), ‘Canon New Cosmos Photography Award’ (2005), and the ‘Canon Excellence Award’ (2005).

Michael Hoppen is one of the UK's leading photography dealers, having exhibited and sold the works of artists including Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon. He established Chelsea's Michael Hoppen Gallery in 1993. Michael was a photographer himself with more than twenty years experience, and a long time collector of fine art photography – both Vintage and contemporary. He has a long standing passion for Japanese photography, having exhibited artists including Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama, Kishin Shinoyama and Miyako Ishiuchi.

Admission Free but booking essential www.dajf.org.uk/booking

	22 February 2011 6:00pm - 7:00pm
	Daiwa Foundation Japan House, 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP UK
	Tel: 020 7486 4348 Fax: 020 7486 2914 Email:office@dajf.org.uk
	www.dajf.org.uk
	Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation