YURI GOTO PHOTO EXHIBITION “love knot” July 26 – August 3, 2025

07/13/2025

We are pleased to announce the photography exhibition “love knot” by Yuri Goto as our July 2025 special exhibition.

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.

To accompany this exhibition, a photobook containing nine smartphone-shaped artist books will be released. The artist matched with 200 people on dating apps and exchanged contact information with nine of them. Each booklet features posts from her private X (formerly Twitter) account, chronicling her romantic experiences with each person, paired with images that represent those feelings. The booklets are designed to be read by flipping the pages left and right—just like swiping through a smartphone screen—so readers can vicariously experience her journey. This photobook will be published as a limited edition of 200 copies, matching the number of people she connected with.

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.

At the venue, the work will be presented in a different format from the artist books, allowing you to experience the world of the project in a more immersive and multidimensional way.
Please take your time and savor this love story to your heart’s content.

Yuri Goto’S “love knot” NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDER!

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

”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

YURI GOTO Photo Exhibition “love knot”

Exhibition Period:
26th July(Sat) – 3th August (Sun), 2025
Open daily from 13:00 to 19:00, free admission
Opening Reception / Artist Talk:
26th July(Sat), 2025, from 14:00
*The exhibition will be open from 13:00.
Venue:
Reminders Photography Stronghold Gallery
2-38-5 Higashi-Mukojima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
(6-minute walk from Tobu Skytree Line Hikifune Station / 5-minute walk from Keisei Hikifune Station)
*Other events, such as talk sessions, may be held during the exhibition period.
Further details will be announced as they are decided, so please check our social media for the latest information.

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

©︎Yuri Goto / love knot

Yuri Goto | Profile
Yuri Goto was born in Tokyo in 1993.
Completed a Master’s degree in Nihon University Graduate School of ART, Department of Image Arts. Selected as a finalist for KG+SELECT 2023.Major exhibitions include “pop ropes” at Koma gallery (Tokyo, 2022).

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