Mie Inada’s photo exhibition “Incoming Messages” 8/5-8/20
We are pleased to present “INCOMING MESSAGE,” a photography exhibition by Mie Inada.
Mie Inada participated in the “Photobook as Object” photography book production workshop held in 2019 where she started working on this project in earnest.
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There is still a U.S. military base called “Camp Asaka” in Wako City in Saitama prefecture, Japan. However, no one is vociferously calling for the return of the land, and the residents are not particularly concerned about the 11.8 hectares of land that is nothing but antennas. Mie Inada herself, who lives nearby, had no interest in the area and was unaware of what had happened to the land.
One day, when she first noticed the crumbling shack on the U.S. military site, the post-World War Ⅱ occupation of the past suddenly loomed out before her. Since then, she has continued to photograph the hut and the remains of the former U.S. military base in the neighborhood, while conducting research on “Camp Asaka (formerly known as Camp Drake)”.
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A reception and artist talk will be held on the first day of the exhibition (Saturday, August 5th).
In conjunction with the exhibition, we would like to announce the publication of the artist book “INCOMING MESSAGE”. Please find the details regarding pre-orders in this page. Information regarding the exhibition will be posted and updated on Facebook and other social media, so please stay tuned.
We look forward to seeing you at the exhibition!
©︎Mie Inada / INCOMING MESSAGE“INCOMING MESSAGE”
When I first saw the rickety hut No.1153, I heard the voices of many people saying something. The small wooden hut, No. 1153, speaks eloquently and voicelessly through time. I was fascinated by its charm and started to research the local history in libraries. While doing my research, I began to imagine the stories of the people who actually lived here which the historical documents did not reveal.
Who was here?
What were they doing here?
What were they looking at?
What were they thinking about?
Through social networking sites and websites, I started contacting people who were living in the area at that time.
This hut was a mysterious device which opened a door to the days when people lived here after World War II. The days when people resided in the American military family housing near this hut. The days when Japanese people lived near the American-occupied territory. The days when wounded soldiers from the Vietnam War stayed at the field hospital at Camp Drake. I received messages from individuals from those days about their precious and unforgettable memories.
In April 2020, a state of emergency was declared due the COVID pandemic, and I was forced to work from home for a while. When I finally came back to office in July, I was surprised to see that the hut had disappeared. Evidence of the past was mercilessly destroyed, and I fear that people will forget the fact that Camp Drake existed here.
The land that I am stepping upon now has most certainly been stepped upon by someone else in the past. However, the cityscape of everyday life is constantly being replaced with new buildings, so I feel as if there is no history.
The only remnants of the U.S military family housing called “Momote Village” are antennas and green lawns. We cannot see it clearly, but I know that this place where I am standing is connected to someone’s precious and unforgettable memories and experiences.
Mie Inada（Photographer）
[Mie Inada Photography Exhibition “INCOMING MESSAGE”]
Dates and times: August 5 (Sat.) – 20 (Sun.), 2023, 13:00 – 19:00
* Open everyday during the exhibition period, free admission
Opening reception and artist talk: Saturday, August 5, 2023, from 18:00
Place: Reminders Photography Stronghold Gallery
Address: 2-38-5 Higashimukojima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
(6-minute walk from Tobu Skytree Line Hikifune Station, 5-minute walk from Keisei Hikifune Station)
Mie Inada’s photobook “INCOMING MESSAGE” will be launched during the exhibition.
Pre-order available from here.
* Opening hours may be subject to change during the exhibition period, in which case we will post an announcement on SNS.
©︎Mie Inada / INCOMING MESSAGE“INCOMING MESSAGE”
©︎Mie Inada / INCOMING MESSAGE“INCOMING MESSAGE”
©︎Mie Inada / INCOMING MESSAGE“INCOMING MESSAGE”
©︎Mie Inada / INCOMING MESSAGE“INCOMING MESSAGE”
©︎Mie Inada / INCOMING MESSAGE“INCOMING MESSAGE”
©︎Mie Inada / INCOMING MESSAGE“INCOMING MESSAGE”
Profile | Mie Inada
Mie Inada is a photographer and also works as a chief of the public relations office at a research institute, drawing on her experience working at an advertising agency.
In 2017, she graduated from Kyoto University of the Arts with an award of excellence, and the next year she was selected for a solo exhibition in Epson’s Open Call selected by Keizo Kitajima and Miho Odaka in 2018.
For more than 10 years, she had been photographing the ruins of a former occupied military base in her neighborhood and attended a workshop in 2019 (Photobook as Object by Yumi Goto and Jan Rosseel) in order to put them into the book form. Since then, she has done extensive research to complete the book, “INCOMING MESSAGE” with the consultation of Yumi Goto.