I’M SO HAPPY YOU ARE HERE

With photographs from the 1950s to the present day, the exhibition I’M SO HAPPY YOU ARE HERE offers a new and fascinating look at Japanese photography. The focus is on women photographers and their perspective on everyday life and society in Japan. The exhibition features the work of over twenty artists from different generations, including Ishiuchi Miyako, Kawauchi Rinko and Katayama Mari.

From street photography to contemporary experimentation, this exhibition is characterised by a broad range of themes, diversity and visual strategies. The exhibition was curated by Lesley A. Martin, Takeuchi Mariko and Pauline Vermare. The Fotografie Forum Frankfurt is the only German venue on the world tour. The Japanese curator Takeuchi Mariko will be present at the opening, and the exhibiting artists have been invited.

The influence of women in Japanese photography has been greatly underestimated. While the work of male Japanese photographers has received most of the attention in the West in recent decades, their female colleagues have remained under the radar. The isolated position of Japanese women artists in a male-dominated society often seems to have given them the freedom to set aside traditional photographic conventions and work independently and experimentally. Many of the photographers featured in this exhibition use their personal histories to explore the role of women, raise questions about gender and identity, and critique patriarchal norms.

The exhibition is divided into four sections: ‘The Pioneers’, ‘The Elevation of the Everyday’, ‘Critical Perspectives on Self, Gender, and Society’ and ‘Extensions of and Experiments with the Medium’.

Participating Photographers

Hara Mikiko (1967), Hiromix (1976), Ishikawa Mao (1953), Ishiuchi Miyako (1947), Katayama Mari (1987), Kawauchi Rinko (1972), Komatsu Hiroko (1969), Kon Michiko (1955), Nagashima Yurie (1973), Narahashi Asako (1959), Ninagawa Mika (1972), Nishimura Tamiko (1948), Noguchi Rika (1971), Nomura Sakiko (1967), Okabe Momo (1981), Okanoue Toshiko (1928), Onodera Yuki (1962), Sawada Tomoko (1977), Shiga Lieko (1980), Sugiura Kunié (1942), Tawada Yuki (1978), Tokiwa Toyoko (1930–2019), Ushioda Tokuko (1940), Watanabe Hitomi (1943), Yamazawa Eiko (1899–1995) and Yanagi Miwa (1967)