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  ©Yuji Obata

Madeira, an island dominion of Portugal, lies down 1,000-km southwest off Lisbon. 

Yuji Obata arrived there in 1999. It was a fortunate coincidence that he found the island praised as the pearl in the Atlantic, after many trips he made to countries along the boarder of Europe with assignments for ten years, starting with Spain, then to Lithuania, Cypress, Turkey and Greece. 

Obata stayed on the island as birds resting their wings while migrating. The sight of a boat anchoring out at sea with the boundless Atlantic for a background was a tableau for him framed in a window. 

He photographed with no feeling of constraints. He indulged himself whole day long in taking pictures of children playing in the changing light of the ocean. 

The exhibition is arranged with some 40 photographs in color and B/W taken on this scenic and peaceful island during his first stay and several visits he made afterward. 

“Bird of paradise flower” is the state flower of the dominion with the population of slightly over a quarter of a million.