HORIUCHI FOUNDATION is proud to present a series of photographs by Tomohiro Muda in an exhibition Icons of Time: Memories of the Tsunami that Struck Japan. The Japanese photographer’s first UK exhibition commemorates six years since Japan’s northeastern coast was hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Icons of Time will be shown at the recently restored and reopened Fitzrovia Chapel, a stunning Grade II* listed building which was formerly the chapel for the old Middlesex Hospital. The exhibition will also form a satellite event for Photo London fair, which runs at Somerset House 17 – 21 May and be part of Fitzrovia Photo London Discovery Night, when the participating galleries in the fair will open til 8.30pm.

Icons of Time is a photographic record of artefacts left behind in the wake of the tsunami. After the disaster, Muda set out on a mission to photograph and document the conditions of the affected areas. His first attempt three weeks after the event was unsuccessful due to the overwhelming grief he experienced upon seeing the devastation. Around nine months later, he returned and photographed roughly 5000 items. Icons of Time will feature a small selection of these pictures.

Tomohiro Muda says, “The objects featured in my works may appear to be mere debris, things abandoned by the tsunami, but they’re not. Each item belonged to someone and suggests the presence of someone who is no longer present. In this exhibition, these fragments tell stories of a post-tsunami landscape and allow us to imagine the activity in these areas before the tsunami.”

 

The Fitzrovia Chapel has an evocative history as the chapel for the old Middlesex Hospital, it was never consecrated but for decades was open to all as a space for quiet contemplation to patients, doctors, nurses and visitors. Today it is open once again to the community and will provide a beautifully reflective and thought-provoking setting for the exhibition.

 

 

For more information please contact Carla von der Becke at Albany Arts

carla@albanyartscommunications.com +44(0)20 73 88 09 97

EXHIBITION DATES 17 – 21 May 2017

VIP & PRESS VIEW Tuesday 16th May 4-6pm

PRIVATE VIEW Tuesday 16th May 6-8pm

the artist will be present

EXHIBITION VENUE

The Fitzrovia Chapel

Fitzroy Place

2 Pearson Square

London. W1T 3BF

 

ABOUT 3.11

On March 11, 2011 an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 hit eastern Japan, triggering a powerful tsunami. The wave hit the northeastern Tohoku region, destroying thousands of homes, and sparked the explosion of a nuclear power plant in coastal Fukushima. The quake is known officially as The Great East Japan Earthquake. The triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and plant explosion has become known in Japan as “3.11”, paralleling the immortalisation of the 9/11 attacks in western

popular consciousness. 2017 marks the sixth anniversary of these events.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

ABOUT TOMOHIRO MUDA

Tomohiro Muda is a photographer based in Tokyo and was born in Nara Prefecture in 1956. In

1980, he graduated from Waseda University, and in 1982 began living in and photographing a

Sherpa village in the Himalayas. Since his 1988 exhibition The Land of Sherpa, he has searched

far and wide for the ‘primordial connection between humans, nature and space,’ and a variety

of other phenomena, releasing them in exhibitions and books. His works have been exhibited

widely in Japan and abroad. The Icons of Time exhibition has previously been shown in 2016 at

the Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney, Australia as part of Art Month Sydney, in 2014 at The

Shoto Museum of Arts, Tokyo and in 2013 at Mitsuo Aida Museum, Tokyo.

Muda-photo.com

ABOUT THE VIP, PRESS AND PRIVATE VIEW

The exhibition will open on Tuesday 16th May with a VIP & Press view from 4-6pm with Japanese tea and sweets. The artist will be present and introduce the exhibiton at 5pm. This will be followed by a Private View from 6.30 – 8.30pm.

 

ABOUT FITZROVIA PHOTO LONDON DISCOVERY NIGHT

All Fitzrovia galleries participating in the Discovery section at Photo London will also be open late that evening with private views and book signings until 8.30pm, including TJ Boulting, White Rainbow and Webber Gallery Space.

 

ABOUT PHOTO LONDON

Now in its third edition, Photo London has established itself as a world-class photography fair and as a catalyst for London’s dynamic photography community. From the capital’s major museums, to its auction houses, galleries large and small, right into the burgeoning creative communities in the East End and South London, Photo London harnesses the city’s outstanding creative talent and brings together the world’s leading photographers, curators, exhibitors, dealers and

the public to celebrate photography, the medium of our time.

Photolondon.org

ABOUT THE HORIUCHI FOUNDATION

The Horiuchi Foundation recognises talent in the arts, providing life-changing opportunities for musicians and artists by promoting their talents to internationally reputable academies, competitions, residencies and awards. The Foundation organises and sponsors masterclasses, seminars and exhibitions around the world, providing financial support as well as

career advice to talented young musicians and artists.

www.horiuchifoundation.com