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Richard Byers
"Ishinomaki SUNLIGHT"
(photography, video and music)

@Gallery éf, Asakusa

Wed. 24 October – Sun. 25 November 2012
12:00 – 20:00 ( -17:00 on the final day)
closed on Tuesdays, entrance free

Australian new media artist Richard Byers presents his days in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture in Japan, after the disaster in March 2011, by photograph and video work.

In most of his works he touches “light” to create resonance within our world and our sense of it. From the 11th of April 2011 he created a public interactive light installation onto a tsunami damaged building (Ishinomaki Saint John the Apostle Orthodox Church, built in 1880) in Ishinomaki, collaborating with local musicians, dancers and citizens. Future collaborations in Ishinomaki are gradually developing.

In his days in Ishinomaki, he was fascinated by the view seen from the top of Umakko-yama, located in a suburb of the city. The simple and everyday rise and fall of the sun across rivers and rice fields, mountain cherry blossoms, common grasses, people’s daily acts and prayer. These things, that mass media often bypasses in favour of sensation, were seen simply from on this local hill.

The exhibition “Ishinomaki SUNLIGHT” shows 10 prints that Byers photographed and brought in his pocket, and video work filmed with manual focus camera. Local musicians collaborated with their music for the films ambient soundtrack.

The venue is a renovated art space “Gallery éf” in Asakusa, which is originally a clay warehouse built in 1868. The house survived two great fires, earthquake in 1923 and Tokyo bombing in 1945.

You’ll meet the light that embraces the days, as it is, through two places where Byers has been guided by his senses.

 


music: Yukki (Coupie) / Yuka - piano
special thanks to: Yukki (Coupie)/ Ishinomaki Saint John the Apostle Orthodox Church Restoration citizen's group/ Ayako Suzuki/ Emiko Iwasaki/ Hikaru Serizawa/ Ishinomaki laboartory / Takeshi Kanno


 


* A part of print sales will be donated to the restoration project of Ishinomaki Saint John the Apostle Orthodox Church.

* This exhibition is scheduled to be held in Sydney and Ishinomaki in 2013.

 

[ Ishinomaki Saint John the Apostle Orthodox Church ]
ASS: 3-18 Nakase, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture

Ishinomaki Saint John the Apostle Orthodox Church Restoration citizen's group

Richard Byers

b 1974 Melbourne

Australian light artist, designer, programmer & photographer Richard Byers is currently based between Europe, Japan and Australia. Working previously as creative director for one of Australia's largest product design consultancies, Richard is now a freelance artist, working across the fields of photography, interactive light installation, performance and new media art. Often collaborating with musicians, dancers, artists and architects, Richard's passion is light, with it's subtle power to invoke emotion and create enjoyment through its' interaction within our world and our sense of it.

Recent highlights include a performance in Liechtenstein at the Ambassadors Information Day 2012 at the request of the Australian Embassy Berlin for ongoing collaborative project sound.transmission.light, and a personal project creating a public interactive light installation onto a tsunami damaged building in Ishinomaki, Japan as part of recovery efforts after the disaster in March 2011.

Other works include; Awarded artist in residence at the Digital Culture Centre, State Library of Queensland, Australia in 2010, performances & installation at the Sydney Opera house for Sydney Festival 2006/07/08 and photographic assignments for ARS Electronica Linz, Austria, Sonar music festival Barcelona, Spain.

http://richardbyers.tk/
http://richardbyers.tk/2012/03/ishinomaki-light-projection-ceremony/

 
filmed by Richard Byers ©

[ VENUE: Gallery éf, Asakusa ]
ADD: 2-19-28 Kaminarimon, Taito-ku, Tokyo
A wooden and clay warehouse built in 1868. It survived two great fires: huge earthquake in 1923 and Tokyo bombing in 1945. Renovated as an art space in 1997. Registered as a cultural asset in 1998.
[ READ MORE ]

http://www.gallery-ef.com