Inaugural Statement : Reminders Photography Stronghold Kyoto Paperoles Chief Kazuhiko Matsumura

Kazuhiko Matsumura sitting in his favorite place in Reminders Photography Stronghold Kyoto Paperoles photo by Aoshima Kogei

　 I have been visiting Reminders Photography Stronghold (RPS) in Tokyo from time to time since it opened in 2012. I have learned a lot from the exhibitions, the photobook library, the workshops, and the mentorship of Yumi Goto. I realized the earnestness, interest, and beauty of photography. RPS is an important place for me.

   I clearly remember how happy I was when I heard that there would be the branch of RPS in Kyoto, where I live, in the fall of 2020. Later, while discussing and documenting the details of the construction, a thread winder was found under the floor.

Thread winder found under the floor

　RPS KYOTO PAPEROLES is about to be built in Nishijin, known for its Nishijin textiles. At the time, I was putting together a project with a doctor. He was a man who, after the war, created pioneering local medical care with colleagues and residents engaged in the Nishijin kimono industry. Looking at the thread winder, I realized that the person had been active in the area where we were located. My encounter with that person was more important than mere coverage. Before he passed away, he left me with a homework assignment: “I want you to photograph what we cannot see.”

　On a day when the PAPEROLES was nearing completion, Yumi asked me to assume the position of chief. It was a very important message to me that the new location of a place that was important to me overlapped with a place where someone important to me had been active. Moreover, they share the same spirit of practicing methods that are not part of the existing system for the benefit of society. I have decided to accept her request in the hope that I can be a part of that practice. I will continue to work as a photojournalist for a local newspaper, so I will not always be in the PAPEROLES, but I am very much looking forward to meeting you all.

Reminders Photography Stronghold Kyoto Paperoles Chief Kazuhiko Matsumura

Kazuhiko’s photo exhibition “Elusive Rainbow” was held as a public event during the renovation of the PAPEROLES. It traced the history of social security in Japan through the life of Dr.Kazuteru Hayakawa. (November 2020)

Kazuhiko’s photo exhibition “Elusive Rainbow” was held as a public event during the renovation of the PAPEROLES. It traced the history of social security in Japan through the life of Dr.Kazuteru Hayakawa. (November 2020)

Kazuhiko Matsumura : While working as a photojournalist for the Kyoto Shimbun newspaper, he creates artworks. His previous work, “Elusive Rainbow,” traced the history of social security in Japan through the life of Kazuteru Hayakawa, a doctor who worked in Nishijin. He held a photo exhibition at KG+, a satellite event of KYOTOGRAPHIE in spring 2019 and received an honorable mention in The New Cosmos of Photography. He has published the photobooks “Subtle Beauty” and “Guru Guru”. Currently working on coverage of dementia. He will be the Reminders Photography Stronghold Kyoto Paperoles Chief from April.

As the first workshop to commemorate the opening of the RPS KYOTO PAPEROLES, we will hold a bookbinding workshop, which has been held frequently in Tokyo and has been well received.
The instructor, Moe Suzuki, also participated in the RPS photobook workshop “Photobook As Object” and produced the work “SOKOHI”. The book won the prestigious Dummy Award at the Arles International Photography Festival and is scheduled to be published in France this year. In addition, she was selected as one of the artists for the KG+ select KYOTOGRAPHIE satellite event last year. Some of you may have seen her work in Kyoto.
This time, Suzuki, who continues to work as an artist, will be the instructor for a workshop aimed at learning bookbinding techniques. This workshop is designed for those who do not have a work of their own yet, or for those who only want to learn bookbinding, as well as for those who want to learn the basics of bookbinding. We hope you will take this opportunity to join us.
The detailed page is only available in Japanese. Please do not hesitate to contact us at workshop@reminders-project.org.




News, RPS KYOTO PAPEROLES