Yudai Omura photo exhibition “A Flower on the Rock” 8/14〜8/29
Reminders Photography Stronghold is pleased to announce Yudai Omura photo exhibition “A Flower on the Rock” from the 14th of August to the 29th.
The writer’s father was once a Sumo wrestler. He pursued his dream as a Sumo wrestler, but illness forced him to give up his life as a Sumo wrestler. This project attempts to express how he spent the seven years he spent as a Sumo wrestler, how he dealt with his dreams and setbacks, and how they affected the rest of his life.
It was tackled in the Photobook as object workshop held at RPS in May 2019 and has since been developed through the RPS mentorship program.
The project has developed in the experimental workshop Atlas Lab “AKINA BOOKS Workshop: Stillness and Movement – Cinematic Editing and Dummy Books” in March 2018, and the project was also developed with the RPS mentorship program.
We will update posts for further information on SNSs. Please stay tuned.
©︎Yudai Omura / A Flower on the Rock
【A Flower on the Rock】
This is the story of a young man from the countryside of the Tohoku region of Japan who entered the world of sumo wrestling with great ambitions after being recognized for his potential as an amateur sumo wrestler. Although he was a beginner, he won the first tournament of his career. After that, he rose steadily in the rankings to meet the expectations of those around him. However, he suddenly found out that he was in poor health and was hospitalized during the main tournament. After leaving the hospital, he was unable to regain his strength and was unable to practice. “Iwa no hana” [“Flower on the Rock”], as he was called, quit sumo wrestling a few years later. Having failed to make a career as a sumo wrestler, he had to make a new life for himself. He trained in cooking from scratch at a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, then returned to his hometown and started his own chanko nabe [typical stew for sumo wrestlers] restaurant. After that, he continued to be involved in sumo wrestling by opening sumo wrestling schools, teaching sumo wrestling, and managing tournaments.
He spent about seven years in the sumo world, chasing his dreams, experiencing things he had never done before, and spending time with his fellow sumo wrestlers as if they were his family. It is certain that his short time in the world of sumo wrestling had a great impact on the rest of his life.
Today, he …… my father leads a quiet life. From there, it is hard to imagine that he was once a sumo wrestler. Sometimes, however, I feel that sumo wrestling is still faintly alive in his life. When he turns his eyes to a sumo wrestling article in the corner of a local newspaper. When the manager of a trendy restaurant tells him that he is a junior member of the sumo-beya [a sumo wrestling organization] to which he was previously affiliated. When he does a shiko [typical sumo wrestler stamp] while walking. Each of these things seems to indicate that he is affirming his own life.
—
Yudai Omura photo exhibition “A Flower on the Rock“
Date: August 14th – 29th, 2021.
Opening hours: 1pm – 7pm
Artist talk event: August 14th 7pm ~
Venue: Reminders Photography Stronghold
©︎Yudai Omura / A Flower on the Rock
©︎Yudai Omura / A Flower on the Rock
©︎Yudai Omura / A Flower on the Rock
©︎Yudai Omura / A Flower on the Rock
©︎Yudai Omura / A Flower on the Rock
Profile |Yudai Omura
Born in Aomori Prefecture in 1988. Currently based in Tokyo. Graduated from the Department of Physical Education at the University of Tsukuba and completed graduate school in Law at Tohoku University. He is interested in how people confront the past and the impact that intimate relationships have on people. This work, “A Flower on the Rock,” is his first photobook.