17 June 2004

The Japan Foundation Touring Exhibition

25 June - 17 August 2004 - LAMB GALLERY, TOWER BUILDING, UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

COUNTER-PHOTOGRAPHY: Japan's Artists Today

An exhibition featuring photographic works from Japan will be displayed in the University of Dundee, the only showing in Scotland from Friday 25 June. On loan from The Japan Foundation, the exhibition has toured with much success across Europe including, Russia, France and Germany and is expected to attract similar interest in Scotland.

This exhibition introduces photographic works by 11 Japanese Artists, the common theme being the photographer's desire to capture a world invisible to the human eye - the world of 'the spirit'. Such an attitude reflects the propensity of the Japanese to perceive the spiritual aspect of life.

The artists revel in the spiritual dimension beyond our living world, attempting a redefinition of relationships between individuals and between the individual and society. This is more than a photographic documentary, more than mere reflection of reality as we see it, but an attempt to capture the invisible, something of the essence of life itself.

Artists include Tomoko Yoneda who takes photographs of the interiors of houses after the residents have moved out, concentrating on the marks made on the wallpaper by the everyday acts of living, the removal of paintings, the heat of gas fires and the pencil scratches of children. Work by Eikoh Hosoe, one of the first generation of post-war Japanese photographers, shows the human body reduced almost to the point of line drawings, at angles that sometimes turn the photographs into abstraction. Tomoakai Ishihara's self-portraits are taken in art galleries, contrasting his unfocussed face in close up with traditional Western and Japanese paintings of people.

A free exhibition catalogue is available upon request. The exhibition will be held in the University's Lamb Gallery, open Monday - Fri 9.30am - 8.30pm and Saturday 9.30am - 4.30pm with free admission.

Notes to editors

THE JAPAN FOUNDATION

The Japan Foundation was founded in 1972 for the purpose of introducing Japanese culture overseas and deepening mutual understanding with other countries through the promotion of cultural exchange. The Exhibition Division serves as Japan's gateway to participation in international art exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale and the S

The Foundation is also active in organising and circulating travelling exhibitions throughout the world made up of works from its own collections related to Japan's arts and culture. The travelling exhibition programme displays a diverse array of objects, from prints and photographs to traditional crafts, and contemporary posters.

For further information please contact the Exhibitions Department on 01382 345330

By Angela Durcan, Press Officer 01382 344768, out of hours: 07968298585, a.durcan@dundee.ac.uk