On Exhibition!
Left to right: Daisuke Kondo, Naomi O’Keeffe, Kay O’Keeffe, Me(rear) @daiskukekondophotography, @shortyok, @kay_kunchan, @zephyr_creation
Last week was the closing of my first photography exhibition in Japan. Only a few months prior, I exhibited two works in my first exhibition ever. Those images were part of an event at my alma mater in the United States. These two experiences have been a continuation of what has already been an exciting and adventurous year for my photography career.
I say career, but to be honest that career is just in its infancy. Each baby step forward though, takes me closer to my dream of doing this full-time, closer to having my work exhibited in professional galleries, closer to making a living doing something that I love so completely. At the moment, I am like a baby who is propelling himself forward, not yet knowing how to control the momentum or to even stop it! I am learning how to do this one step at a time. I am interested in everything and am absorbing as much as I can, just like a wee babe.
Fortunately, I was invited to join this exhibition in Japan by friends. So, together with three other photographers, we prepared for the show. I printed my images in the US and had them shipped to Japan. The service was fast and efficient. However, some of my prints were much darker than my files appeared on my computer. Next time, I will need to learn how to exporting properly to get the results that I want.
I printed 41 A4 size and 11 square 8x8 images. After I received my prints, I backed them myself with a 2cm thick panel. The panel had adhesive and I simply cut it to size and with care, spread the print on the panel. It took time. I worked on it after my main teaching job each night the week leading up to the show. After many expletives muttered from near disasters, I was able to finish them, with labels done the same way. The gallery did not allow us to use double-sided tape, so we pinned extra pieces of the panel to the wall and adhered the prints to that using double-sided tape. It gave the prints a bit of separation from the wall and made it look like they were floating.
All together the printing, panels, cutting board, utility knife, large ruler, promotional fliers, contact sheets, nails, double-sided tape, and space rental, cost just under $500. The price of the exhibition was expensive for someone on a budget, like myself, but I justified it as I would justify paying for a photography course. The amount of learning that goes on when putting something like this together is massive. Moreover, the relationships that you build in connecting to your community are priceless. Already, from this exhibition, opportunities to work with other photographers have materialized. I can’t tell you now exciting it is to finally have a chance to build relationships with other photographers living in Sapporo.
Also as a result of this exhibition, an opportunity to showcase my work at a popular local hair salon has been offered. Salon Leh Beauty located in the upscale, trendy area of Maruyama in Sapporo, will hang four of my prints for the next two months. The owner, Takeyasan, is a master at connecting to the community and I have a lot to learn from him. For the time being, I’m grateful for the chance to hang my work in his salon. This opportunity will greatly increase the presence of my photography and hopefully generate new traffic and subscribers to my YouTube Channel. Who knows what other opportunities will materialize from this experience.
Having your work on social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, or any other platform, is all fine and dandy. It feels good when people like your work and even better when they comment. However, having your work printed, hanging on a wall, with real, live people looking at your images, moving in closer look to investigate, seeing them turn to a friend or lover to comment (even if you can’t hear what they say), feels like heaven.
The feeling is electric. I heard a few times, “Wow,” or “That’s beautiful,” or “I really like that.” Having people connect to your work, your vision, your view of the world shows that you are not self-delusional about your abilities as a photographer. Not that I was looking for validation, but it came anyway and I feel more confident since the exhibition closed to continue exploring and experimenting with my work.
One more thought about exhibiting that I would like to share. Perhaps the greatest feeling of all was seeing the people that you already know, your community - friends, family, colleauges, friends of friends, family of friends, all come out to support you. That’s very special and heartwarming to have so much love, thought, and support thrown behind you. I am very graterful indeed.
