In her still and subdued works, Rinko Kawauchi (1972), one of the most celebrated Japanese photographers of her generation – tries to capture the brief and transient beauty of the everyday things we often overlook. Playing on such themes as the family and our interaction with the cycle of nature and life, this artist looks for wonder in details. It is astonishing that her sensitive yet forceful way of observing the world around her and of catching fleeting moments in a photo actually results in an exquisite fragility – which is also evident in her meticulously constructed compositions.
Rinko Kawauchi, “Untitled”, from the series of “The Eyes, The Ears,”, 2005. ©Rinko Kawauchi. Courtesy: The Artist and Foil Gallery, Tokyo
Kawauchi uses the micro-momentary as a compass and this, like surfing on a wave, has unpredictable results and as an experience is holistic. In these invariably subjectively-charged images, it is not the explicit that gains in importance, as is usual in photography, but the implicit. Kawauchi’s pictures are permeated with the Greek kairos, a unit of psychological time or subjective parenthesis that is independent of linear, chronological time and creates depth in the moment.
The exhibition at Argos is arranged around two series of slides. Cui Cui gives us an intimate glimpse into Kawauchi’s family life.
2 February – 27 March 2010 (from Tuesday to Saturday // 12.00 – 19.00)
Argos, Werfstraat 13 Rue du Chantier, 1000 Brussels
www.argosarts.org
