Cozue Takagi
“ insider ”
2006Grand Prize
ARTIST STATEMENT
insider
A person split right down in the middle. The right half controls the left-brain, while the left half controls the right. Controlled by different brains, the right and left are completely different persons. By the means of photography, I bring out the representational world of the two people that lay hidden inside a single person. These two people look very much alike but each have their own distinct emotions and will. An interest in people was the driving force that gave birth to this piece. Spirit and body, brain and soul, consciousness and unconsciousness - these are the things that I want to articulate.
The process of creating this work deepened my awareness of photography as an act of being permitted to photograph rather than as an act of me creating a photograph. A photograph is always of something: without a subject there is no photograph. Perhaps a photograph is ultimately not a form of my personal expression. I think photography means a desire that enables self to transcend own space and enter the subject or allow the subject to enter self. Currently, I am a university senior studying photography, and I give thanks for my family, friends, and teachers as I devote myself to my work and projects.
Entries form: Book format A3 size, Inkjet paper 31 sheets
Selecting judge: Daido Moriyama
This work made me again reflect on the fact that the “face” is an enigmatic and mysterious thing. Based on the well understanding of the characteristics of the photo mechanism, the photographer straightly confronts the fascination of the face and skillfully visualizes it. Even if ideas are good, but when they become a dull photograph, there is no meaning. However here the idea is thoroughly embodied in the piece. One is initially surprised by the theme and then even more surprised upon seeing the piece itself. Thus this piece succeeds in bringing out the potential inherent in the art of photography. This is a piece that can be looked at from many perspectives and is as well as an immensely enjoyable piece.
PROFILE
Cozue Takagi
| 1985 | Born in Nagano Prefecture |
| 2007 | Graduated from the Department of Photography, Faculty of Arts, Tokyo Polytechnic University |
| 2015-2016 | Studied in Oregon through the Pola Art Foundation Study Program for Artists |
| 2018 to present | Lives and works in Nagano Prefecture |
Solo Exhibitions
| 2019 | Prelude (Taro Nasu, Tokyo) |
| 2017 | Mirror Behind Hole ‒ Photography into Sculpture (Gallery αM, Tokyo) Cokuze Takagi (taimatz, Tokyo) |
| 2014 | Biwajima (Canon Gallery S, Tokyo) |
| 2013 | Biwajima Kaleido (AKAAKA Art Publishing Inc., Tokyo) |
| 2012 | SUZU (Suwa City Museum of Art, Nagano) MID.SUZU (Art Gallery X, Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo) |
| 2011 | SUZU (Hokto Culture Hall Gallery, Tokyo) SUZU (Taro Nasu, Tokyo) |
| 2010 | MID / GROUND (Shadai Gallery, Nakano Campus, Tokyo Institute of Polytechnics, Tokyo) GROUND / MID, 35th Kimura Ihei Memorial Photography Award Exhibition (Plaza Gallery C, Konica Minolta, Tokyo) MID (Dai-ichi Life Gallery, Tokyo) GROUND (Art Gallery X, Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo) |
| 2009 | GROUND (Taro Nasu, Tokyo) |
| 2008 | laboratory5: (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka) laboratory4: (Denki Bunka Kaikan, Nagoya) laboratory3: (OAP Artcourt, Osaka) laboratory2: (sendai mediatheque, Sendai) |
| 2007 | laboratory1: (Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo and toured museums in Sendai, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka) |
Group Exhibitions
| 2008 | SHINBISM2 (Suzaka Hanga Museum, Nagano) |
| 2017 | Art of Shinshu Past and Present: From Shunso Hishida to Cokuze Takagi [2017 Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum Travelling Exhibition] (Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum and others, Nagano) |
| 2015 | Let's Talk at the Museum! 2014 (Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum, Nagano) Fruitfulness: Contemporary Art in Toyokawa (Sakuragaoka Museum, Aichi) |
| 2014 | SUWA (Suwa City Museum of Art, Nagano) In between (taimatz, Tokyo) |
| 2011 | Let's Talk at the Museum! 2011 (Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum, Nagano) SHIBUKARU (Shibuya Parco, Tokyo) NEXT: New Generation Artists in Nagano 2010 (Ina Culture Hall, Hokto Culture Hall, Nagano) |
| 2010 | 35th Anniversary Exhibition of the Kimura Ihei Photography Awards (Kawasaki City Museum, Kanagawa) Fragmented Emotions (Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong) |
| 2009 | VOCA 2009: The Vision of Contemporary Art (The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo) |
| 2008 | Epson Color Imaging Next (Spiral Garden, Tokyo) Daegu Photo Biennale 2008 (Daegu, South Korea) 450 (Taro Nasu, Osaka) |
| 2007 | Epson Color Imaging Contest 2007 (Spiral Garden, Tokyo) neo Digital Generation (Epson Imaging Gallery epSITE, Tokyo) |
2006Grand Prize