【🎨Exhibition Report】Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino "Sayaka Uehara: Even If All the Rubble Were Cleaned Away Without a Trace" & "Mr. Naylor's Cabinet of Curiosities"

【#309, approx. 4,000 characters, approx. 75 photos】
Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, I visited the special exhibition "Sayaka Uehara: Even If All the Rubble Were Cleaned Away Without a Trace" and the collection exhibition "20th Anniversary of the Gallery: Yokohama City Camera and Photography Collection Exhibition Mr. Naylor's Cabinet of Curiosities." Here are my thoughts and review.

▶︎ Conclusion

It was a recommended exhibition that can be enjoyed on a low budget. This is mainly because 1) the works of Sayaka Uehara, which I learned about for the first time, made me feel nostalgic while also sensing a story in the photographs, and 2) in the collection exhibition, I was able to see many interesting camera and photography exhibits. I don't think there are many opportunities to get off at Azamino Station, so why not take this chance to visit?

▼ Record of my previous visit to Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino

▶︎ Reason for visiting

Since "Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino" kept reposting impressions, I felt like "maybe I should go see it." The fact that photographer Sayaka Uehara is mainly active in Okinawa was also one of the reasons.

▶︎ Impressions of "Sayaka Uehara: Even If All the Rubble Were Cleaned Away Without a Trace"

This is the first solo exhibition by photographer Sayaka Uehara. I visit the Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino once or twice a year. Among those visits, this is the first time they have charged an admission fee (500 yen). Because of this, many people were stopped while trying to enter thinking it was free (I was one of them🙋).

Also, I found it convenient that the official website includes a section called "Highlights of the Exhibition," in addition to the descriptive text. This is because it is often difficult to grasp the main points even after reading through long explanations.

Sayaka Uehara was born in Okinawa Prefecture in 1993 (a graduate of Tokyo Zokei University). In the first section, many photographs of Okinawa were on display.

Since I have been to Okinawa several times, looking at the photos brought back a sense of nostalgia. Just by looking at the works, I felt as if the atmosphere and scent of Okinawa were coming back to me.

▼ Impressions of exhibitions I visited in Okinawa

When I saw the main visual, I wondered, "Why is it just a normal American diner?"

What is being captured is everyday life in Okinawa. I realized that the military, America, and history are naturally reflected there. I thought that might be Sayaka Uehara's intention.

Inside the darkroom, a new work titled "Mae no Hama," consisting of black-and-white photographs taken in Okinawa, was unveiled for the first time.

Is the slideshow a part of her private life? It also looked like a simple record of outings. With the black-and-white photos, I got the impression that a certain melancholy or "shadow" was drifting through them.

I learned later that these were a slideshow of about 200 photos taken during the three days around the 2025 Memorial Day, ranging from her own room to the Kerama Islands.

The works shot in Taiwan, "Green Room" and "Green Days," which were nominated for the 49th Kimura Ihei Photography Award, were also on display.

Since I have no personal attachment to Taiwan, I felt "I can't really say anything about this." The entire room was wrapped in sepia tones, and I felt a certain gentle atmosphere.

Looking at the exhibition as a whole, I felt that Sayaka Uehara is an artist who values stories in her work.

Among the works, the photograph of the "DFS Galleria" in Okinawa left a lasting impression on me.

While feeling the nostalgia of travel, the desolate atmosphere also seemed to reflect the irony of encroachment by foreign capital.

I asked my child, and for some reason, they seemed to like the landscape photos of Taiwan. They said, "Outside~".

▼ Artist interview video (Since it is 17 minutes and 35 seconds long, I think creating a 3-4 minute digest version would maximize cost-effectiveness)

After that, I moved to the collection exhibition on the second floor.

▶︎ Impressions of "20th Anniversary Exhibition: Yokohama City Camera and Photography Collection - Mr. Naylor's Wunderkammer"

The collection was wide-ranging, from items that included the perspective of Naylor, who was an engineer, to souvenirs related to cameras found while traveling.

Note that "|Wunder" means "miracle, wonder, mystery" in German. For me, the battleship that appears in Evangelion came to mind first.

This exhibition is a collection exhibition titled "20th Anniversary Exhibition". Did they develop a new character, "Azamic", to go along with it? Inside the exhibition room, the history of photography was unraveled using Azamic.

Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino is entrusted with the preservation and utilization project of the "Yokohama City Camera and Photography Collection" acquired by Yokohama City. Using these, they hold a collection exhibition every year.

This time, Josai International University Faculty of Media Studies and POETIC SCAPE are listed under "cooperation." To show things in a new way, the quickest way is to rely on new people.

Below, I will introduce the collection, focusing on the items that caught my attention.

▼ Exhibition at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum where stereo photographs were displayed

With this much volume, if they planned an exhibition in a large art museum using interesting curation, I thought even more people would be able to enjoy the collection (perhaps SOMPO Museum of Art or Artizon Museum would be good?).

▶︎ Summary

What did you think? Since you can see high-quality photography for 500 yen and a free collection exhibition, it was a very meaningful time. In addition to learning about Sayaka Uehara for the first time, I could feel the passion of the organizers even in a collection exhibition I had seen several times before. It is a recommended exhibition!

▶︎ Today's Museum Meal