Rinko Kawauchi: At the edge of the everyday world

Celebrating over twenty years of extraordinary practice, internationally acclaimed Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi’s poetic images find beauty in the ordinary moments of everyday life.

Her first major UK exhibition since 2006 centres around the series M/E – letters which stand for both ‘Mother’ and ‘Earth’ and ‘Me’ – moving between explorations of the natural world’s fragile beauty to the gentle rhythm of domestic scenes, capturing the connections and continuity of life on this ‘planet we call home’.

M/E began in 2019 and draws from images of Icelandic volcanoes and ice floes, Hokkaido’s snowy landscapes, and everyday home life from the COVID pandemic, inviting viewers to reconsider our connections as humans with nature.

At the edge of the everyday world highlights the small, personal movements within our lives that go on to create larger, universal journeys, featuring photographic prints and film installations from M/E (Mother Earth), Illuminance and earlier series such as Ametsuchi and AILA, whilst also showcasing Kawauchi’s 30+ photobook publications, exploring her career through words and imagery.

At the edge of the everyday world includes a showcase of photobooks spanning Kawauchi’s 30+ titles exploring her career through words and imagery. Grounded in themes of care, identity and sustainability, Kawauchi’s lyrical work inspires audiences to rethink humanity’s fragile links to the universe and ecology.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication, including newly commissioned texts and images of exhibited works drawn from M/E, Aila, Ametsuchi and Illuminance.

At the edge of the everyday world is presented in collaboration with the Bristol Photo Festival, an international biennial of contemporary photography, staged across the city’s museums, galleries and independent spaces, and supported by The Japan Foundation. The second edition of the festival, entitled The World A Wave, will launch in October 2024. 

‘At the edge of the everyday world’ title is taken from an essay written by Masatake Shinohara for Aperture in 2021. Please click here to read the piece in full.

Bristol Photo Festival is held 14 October onwards, across multiple venues, from long-standing art centres, to temporary spaces transformed for the purposes of the festival. Not all venues operate the same exhibition times so please check the opening days and times of each venue before setting off.

You can download a PDF of the festival map below to help you explore.

Listen to Audio Descriptions of works and resources from At the edge of the everyday world below:

Rinko Kawauchi

Rinko Kawauchi is a renowned Japanese photographer whose work often focus on finding beauty in the ordinary moments of everyday life.

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