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Win a Solo Exhibition in April 2026 + An Exclusive Interview!
Win a Solo Exhibition in April 2026 + An Exclusive Interview!
Shinya Arimoto
Shinya Arimoto
Shinya Arimoto

Shinya Arimoto

Country: Japan
Birth: 1971

Arimoto, who was born in Osaka in 1971, currently resides and works in Tokyo. Arimoto, a 1994 graduate of Visual Arts Osaka, won the 35th Taiyo Award in 1998 for his piece "Portrait of Tibet." He started the Totem Pole Photo Gallery in 2008. In 2016, Arimoto collaborated with Zen Foto Gallery to publish "Tokyo Circulation," and in 2017, she was honored with the Photographic Society of Japan's Lifetime Achievement Award and the 26th Tadahiko Hayashi Award. His other works include "TIBET" and "ariphoto selection" (Nos. 1–10, Totem Pole Photo Gallery) (Zen Foto Gallery, 2019). He actively exhibits his work both inside and outside of Japan. In 2017, he held a solo exhibition at Le Plac'Art Photo in Paris, and in 2019, he took part in the group show "Am Rand der Gesellschaft. Barlach, Springer, Arimoto" at Museum Bautzen in Germany.

Statement
In 1994, while still in my early 20’s and fresh out of photo school I went to India to photograph. Six months into my travels the backpack in which I was keeping my exposed film – over 150 rolls – was stolen. This incident cast a dark shadow over my youth and ultimately signified a turning point in my understanding about photography which continues to this day. Even though I went to India determined to make photographs this event was the trigger for me to realize that essentially I was there sightseeing and made me question why I was even in India in the first place. It made me aware of the ambiguity of my determination (…).

Soon after this I went to Nepal. With no set destination I happened to end up in Kathmandu. There, I encountered a Tibetan family on the roadside (…). My relationship with this family grew as we shared meals and our living space. In between mantra carving, I looked after the children when they played. Our time together was short yet it was a time of happiness. As the days passed I picked up bits of their language and began to feel a strong desire to see their homeland with my own eyes (..).

In 1996, I set foot in Tibet. I’ll never forget that thrill. Everything that had happened so far – every coincidence, incident, and tribulation, had brought me to this point. (…) Looking back I realize that most of my twenties were spent with Tibet. Having started out as an empty vessel, it was Tibet and my experiences there that made me full.
 

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More Great Photographers To Discover

Peter Harlow
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Peter was born and educated to first degree standard in the UK. He gained a private pilot license in 1970. His career spans aerial photography, corporate communication and management development. After emigrating to Australia in 2001 he ran his own company providing small light aircraft to farmers, flying schools and private clients. Recently he took up commercial drone flying – which combines his love of photography and views from the sky. He currently lives in Melbourne with his artist partner. As a photographer, I have always been fascinated by the interplay of light, shadows and shapes that exist in both the natural and human-made world. For many years, as a pilot I saw the landscape from a small aeroplane. With the advent of drone technology, which enables the camera platform to remain static and fly much closer to the surface, I can now explore the landscape from new angles and perspectives, capturing images that were impossible from an aeroplane. Artist statement: One of the key elements of abstract art is the process of abstraction, where artists take familiar objects and break them down into their essential components. Similarly, my photographs capture landscapes from above, abstracting the natural world into a series of shapes, colours and textures that are sometimes quite different from their original form. By removing the context of the wider landscape, I want to encourage the viewer to see the world in a new light, as a collection of abstract forms that are both beautiful and intriguing. In abstracting the landscape, my aim is to create a body of work that challenges your perceptions and invites you to see the beauty and charm that exists all around us.
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Martin Miklas
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Larry Fink
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AAP Magazine #56 Shadows
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