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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

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  ©Yuji Hamada

We are pleased to announce Yuji Hamada’s solo exhibition at PGI.

Yuji Hamada’s latest work, K, follows C/M/Y and R G B as the third and final installment in his series exploring color and light. In his study of the primary colors, C/M/Y (2015), he reconstructed cyan, magenta and yellow color layers of dissected digital Polaroid prints into new images. With R G B(2018) he turned his focus to the primary colors of light which make up light itself, creating abstract images to simultaneously test the limits of every available commercial negative film stock and free viewers from their preconceptions of color. The title K refers to both the black key plate used in CMYK printing and the unit of temperature measurement on the Kelvin scale.

   The core theme of Hamada’s work can be explained as a desire to utilize photography to challenge the audience’s assumptions regarding his subject matter. With this series the artist aims to question our understanding of color. Choosing items or scenes commonly associated with a certain color, he photographed each subject using both color and black-and-white film. Hamada then stacked the two negatives in a color enlarger to create prints. This layering of monochrome and color photos creates desaturated tones which defy all expectations. The gap in time as Hamada switched from black and white film to color film is also palpable in each print. In showing such unfamiliar imagery Hamada reminds us that experience, memory and even the passage of time are subjective, and that there is no one way to see. It may be said that the transmission of this message is the final step in completing this work.

   According to Hamada, “Explaining colors is like trying to explain your dreams. I see this as a beautiful contradiction in our ability to understanding.”

This exhibition will feature around forty-five chromogenic prints.

『   K   』

Sometime after I turned 20, with the rising popularity of the Internet and digital technology, I noticed just how many images we are exposed to on a daily basis. In addition to print media, television and advertising we now have social media, net news and the Web all brimming with photographs. This got me thinking about the interplay between us and our imagery, and for the last few years I’ve been exploring the colors specific to photography in my work.

   In 2014 I released C/M/Y, a series looking at the primary colors in which I created images by rearranging the color layers of dissected Polaroid prints. With R G B in 2018 I turned my focus to the colors which make up light itself to create abstract images of shadows projected onto a white background while also testing the characteristics of various color film stocks. With both projects I was striving to deconstruct photography into photons (light) and graphics (image). C/M/Y covered the graphics and R G B covered the photons, with both works serving to explore the potential of color photography.

      K   , the third installment in this series, refers to both the black key plate used in printing and the unit of temperature measurement on the Kelvin scale. To represent these two elements in photographic form I shot the same scene in black and white and in color, then printed both negatives on the same sheet of paper in the darkroom. In doing so I transformed the disconnect between my conscious and subconscious into what I call ‘Black and White Color Photos.’ 

Talking with others I’ve realized that we all perceive and react to color differently. Even if you and I were to look at the same apple we wouldn’t necessarily see the same shade of red. These variations can appear due to a person’s level of awareness, memories, or simply with the passage of time. Researching color I also learned that the Eskimo, who live in snowy regions, have many different words to describe the color white. In other words, culture and environment play a large role in how we relate to color. In that sense colors are like dreams, no two people ever see the exact same one. I see all of this as a beautiful contradiction in our understanding.

   Upon the realization that I can’t see the same colors as others and vice versa, I strived to connect with my own sense of color while taking these photos. When you see the work, I’m certain that your own experiences with color will reveal something far beyond my imagination.2019.10.25

Yuji Hamada

Yuji Hamada

Born in Osaka, Japan in 1979. Graduated from the Department of Photography, Nihon University College of Art in 2003. Currently based in Tokyo with works being exhibited worldwide.

Hamada experiments with a variety of unique approaches to create work that is highly conceptual yet rooted in the fundamentals of photography. Major exhibitions include R G B, C/M/Y (PGI, Tokyo), Photograph and Primal Mountain (GALERIE f5,6, Munich). Exhibited in the Swiss photo festival Images (2014) and France’s Phot’Aix Photography Festival (2015), among others.

Major publications include C/M/Y (Fw:books, 2015), which uses the printing process as a means of photographic expression, and BRANCH (lemon books, 2015), a series created with only fallen branches found while mountain climbing in Switzerland. Primal Mountain (torch press) was released in November 2019.

PGI Exhibitions