Hitomi Watanabe “Tenjiku in Colour”

Dates: March 25 (Fri) — April 23 (Sat), 2022

Zen Foto Gallery is pleased to present Hitomi Watanabe’s photography exhibition “Tenjiku in Colour” from March 25 to April 23, 2022. This marks Watanabe’s third solo presentation with Zen Foto Gallery since her previous exhibitions “Tokyo University 1968–1969—Behind the Blockade” in 2015 and “Tekiya” in 2017.

Ever since Hitomi Watanabe first visited India and Nepal in 1972, her photography series “Tenjiku” taken in the two countries has become her life work. This exhibition will showcase a selection of colour photographs from the series. In “Tenjiku”, Watanabe continued to visually document her spiritual experiences since the 1970s. The color photographs she took in the 1980s beautifully express the daily lives of the people and the energy of the land through her sensitivity. As it has become more difficult to travel these days due to the covid-19 pandemic, we hope you will enjoy the journey of images in this exhibition.

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Artist Profile

Hitomi WATANABE

Hitomi Watanabe graduated from Tokyo College of Photography [Tokyo Sogo Shashin Gakko] in 1968. She presented her works titled “World of the Street Hawkers” in her graduating exhibition, and continued photographing and publishing the series in magazines such as “Shashin Graphic” and “Shashin Eizo”. Around the same time, when she was taking photos in the streets of Shinjuku, she encountered and began documenting the Zen-kyoto student movement. In 1972, she began travelling through Asia. During her visit to India and Nepal, she felt she had found the home of her soul, and decided extend her stay. Since returning to Japan, her photography has become essentially a spiritual documentation aimed at conveying a message to the living spirits. Her publications include “Tenjiku” (Yasosha, 1983), “Mohita’s Dream Journey” (Kaiseisha, 1986), “The Era of Monkeys” (Shinchosha, 1994), “Myths of the West” (Chuokoronsha, 1997), “Open, Lotus” (Shuppanshinsha, 2001), “The Monkey Philosopher” (Shuppanshinsha, 2003), “Photo Documentation: Todai Zenkyoto 1968–69” (Shinchosha, 2005), “1968 Shinjuku” (Machikarasha, 2014), “Tokyo University 1968–1969—Behind the Blockade” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2015), “Tekiya” (Jiyusha, 2017), and “Lotus” (Yasosha, 2024). Watanabe’s solo exhibitions “Early Works: Seasons of Zenkyōtō” were held at Nikon Salon Ginza and Nikon Salon Osaka in 2007. She participated in different group exhibitions including “1968 in Japanese Photography” at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in 2013; “1968: A Time Filled with Countless Questions” at National Museum of Japanese History in 2017; “1968: Art in the Turbulent Age” at Chiba City Museum of Art in 2018; “Provoke: Opposing Centrism” at Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts; “Absolute Chairs” at Museum of Modern Art, Saitama. Her works will be shown at the exhibition “I’m So Happy You Are Here — Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now” in the Arles International Festival of Photography in summer 2024.