This exhibition presented photographs taken by the photographer Naoki Ishikawa during a time when, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, free movement had become severely restricted. In search of a new form of journey, he turned toward rediscovering places close to him. The works included a camera obscura installed in his home and an overwhelming number of photographs taken in the streets of Shibuya. Needless to say, each individual image is compelling; however, more than anything, the body of work conveys a sense of inwardness shaped by the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic, while simultaneously expressing an openness toward the outside of the known world. It also strongly reflects the physicality of the artist at the moment of shooting.

Ishikawa has said that “the moment I press the shutter is when my mind reacts.” In this exhibition, it felt appropriate not only to view the photographs themselves, but to engage with them in a way that allows one to relive his physical presence and the movements of his mind at the time of shooting. During the pandemic, we all shared the rare experience of being forced to stay at home for a certain period. Yet, just as Ishikawa longed to rediscover the hidden worlds within his immediate surroundings—his home and the streets of Shibuya—I believe many of us held a similar curiosity toward unknown worlds, even while our movements were constrained.

The exhibition begins by entering a darkened space through a very small opening, reminiscent of a camera obscura, and then unfolds into encounters with the contingency of the city. As human activity diminished during the pandemic, the balance of the urban ecosystem shifted, altering the character of the city itself. Animals such as rats and crows became more visible, reminding us that we have always shared the urban terrain with other forms of life. The space allowed visitors to experience the city as a kind of landscape from an unfamiliar perspective—almost as if seeing through the eyes of Ishikawa, or even through those of animals like rats—opening up a different way of perceiving the urban environment and its expanding scenery.