YURI GOTO’S “love knot” NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDER!

07/13/2025

We are now accepting orders for Yuri Goto’s artist book “love knot”.

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

In 2020, as the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic began and in-person connections became impossible, Yuri Goto turned to dating apps in an attempt to fill the loneliness. “love knot” is a personal exploration of that search for connection in a rapidly changing world.

Today, dating apps have become the mainstream way to meet new people, with user numbers growing every year. These apps allow people to search by a variety of criteria—age, height, occupation, income, education, personality, views on love, and more—offering seemingly endless possibilities for connection.
Yet, in this world of efficiency and choice, individuals are often treated as impersonal data, as if browsing an online catalog where everyone is replaceable and endlessly sortable.
Within such a system, how do we truly encounter someone irreplaceable and form a genuine bond? This work explores the nature of modern encounters through her own personal experiences.

She matched with 200 people through dating apps, and exchanged contact information with nine of them. The resulting work consists of nine smartphone-shaped books, each chronicling a story with one of these nine people, housed in individual boxes. Each book pairs private posts from her locked X (formerly Twitter) account—detailing her experiences with love on the app—with images that serve as representations of those feelings. The pages are turned left and right, echoing the gestures of swiping on a screen. Reflecting the number of matches she made, “love knot” will be released as a limited edition of 200 copies.

The creation of this work began in 2022 with the experimental workshop “Reconstructing Images and Metaphorical Expressions” at Reminders Photography Stronghold (RPS). That same year, it was first presented at the solo exhibition “pop ropes” at Koma Gallery, followed by a showing as a KG+SELECT finalist in 2023. Under the mentorship of RPS curator Yumi Goto, the work has continued to evolve. With the new title “love knot,” all images and text have been newly created.

The term “love knot” refers to a bow made by tying a ribbon or string, and in English, it symbolizes an eternal bond—its shape also resembling the infinity symbol (∞). It reflects both the hope that “the love I found through the app will last forever,” and the opposing thought, “If it ends, I may return to the app in search of a new love, repeating this cycle over and over again.” These conflicting feelings are intertwined within the title.

This special, limited-edition artist’s book is handcrafted by the artist.
A related exhibition, “Yuri Goto Photo Exhibition: love knot,” will be held from July 26 to August 3, 2025.
During the exhibition, visitors will also have the opportunity to see the artist’s bookmaking process at the venue.
We hope you will take a moment to pick up this unique book and experience it for yourself.

”love knot”

I started using dating apps out of the loneliness of a life where I couldn’t meet people.
It was always on sleepless nights that I opened the app.
I was looking for someone who could erase this loneliness.
Profiles with photos randomly appeared on the screen of my phone.
NO and LIKE, I swiped my finger left and right on a whim and matched up with someone.
I could see that that person had seen my profile and swiped in the same way.
There were nights when I could sleep just because of that.

Of the 200 men I matched with, I exchanged contact information with nine of them.

This is a love story I may have experienced.
Dreaming of the person of my destiny, I send a message.

Yuri Goto

ABOUT “love knot”

・Edition of 200 (Hand-numbered & signed)
・Photography, Photography, text, editing, printing, binding, English translation : Yuri Goto
・English proofreading：Hub Pacheco
・Logo design: Chihiro Yamazaki, Shu Watanabe
・Size (per volume) : 159mm×87mm×225mm
・Pages (total for all 9 volumes) : 298 pages
・Weight : Approx. 1700g
・Language : You can choose between Japanese and English languages.
＊In the English version, all of the text will be in English.
・Price: 16,500 JPY (Tax included, shipping extra)

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#1 China, South Korea, Taiwan
#2 Asia
#3 Europe, Oceania, Canada, Mexico, Middle East
#4 United States
#5 Latin America, Africa
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Alternatively, you can place your order via email at photobook@reminders-project.org.