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In February 2023, Gallery Tosei will exhibit "Myanmar in Everyday Life 3," works by Sekiguchi and Kameyama, both of whom have been photographing Myanmar for many years with their own approaches.
In 2013, Sekiguchi organized a festival at Zojoji Temple to introduce Myanmar's culture and traditions to Japan, and has continued to support the temple and promote exchange, In 2017, he launched the Myanmar Festival as a general incorporated association.
Kameyama has continued to interact with people he has met in Myanmar, photographing the people and their lives as they have changed from military rule before 2011 to the now fleeting "democratization" of the country. Recently, he has continued to photograph the Shirakotsu Road, which was invaded by the Japanese army in World War II and became a route of defeat, and other areas, with the theme of the connection between Japan and Myanmar.
The following is a message from one of the exhibiting artists
On February 1, 2023, it will be two years since the military staged a coup in Myanmar (Burma). Today, the people of Myanmar are still persistently trying to restore peace and future despite the military's oppression.
The new coronavirus that has spread around the world has made it impossible for them to travel, and the coup d'état has scrapped their plans to resume filming. We are heartbroken by the worsening situation in the region over the online.
Although urban areas such as Yangon seem to have regained their calm, there are explosions and shootings somewhere every day, and the security situation is worsening with an increase in robberies. In rural areas, entire villages have been burned to the ground by military air strikes and burnings, and more than 1.3 million people have been displaced domestically and internationally.
Far from Myanmar, where people live in a beautiful climate with peaceful people, there is a lot of bloodshed, especially among young people who have chosen to fight on their own, not expecting any help from the international community.
Myanmar residents in Japan stand on street corners every weekend to tell about the current situation in their homeland and gather support. They also continue to appeal, "Please don't forget about Myanmar. They believe that the interest, sympathy, and support of the people of Japan and the rest of the world are indispensable to restore peace and freedom.
They feel a strong sense of crisis that the world's attention is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and that coverage of Myanmar-related issues is dwindling and being forgotten.
While they have been involved in Myanmar through photography and exchange, a coup d'état took place, and they continue to ask themselves what they can do for the people of Myanmar as photographers. He continues to question what he can do as a photographer to help the people of Myanmar.
I would like people to see the peaceful Myanmar in the exhibition and compare it with the Myanmar we know today through news reports. We hope that the exhibition will trigger interest in the human rights abuses taking place in Myanmar, and that it will lead to support for the people of Myanmar.
Myanmar is in the midst of a prolonged period of social unrest, economic activity is declining, and public safety is deteriorating, and I hear about the widening division of people due to differences in position and ideological beliefs. I hope that the photos in the exhibition will provide an opportunity for Myanmar people living in Japan to think about the ideal future for their country, in order to overcome the divisions and restore peace and the future."
We believe that the significance of this exhibition can be deepened by exhibiting the works of Mr. Sekiguchi and Mr. Kameyama, who have been photographing Myanmar for many years, facing the people of Myanmar head-on.
In April 2021, in response to the coup d'état that took place in February of the same year, the gallery proposed that photographer Hitoshi Kameyama change the content of his exhibition at Gallery Tosei's exhibition of his photographs, and held "Everyday Myanmar," an exhibition of photographs that conveyed a peaceful, true Myanmar. In March 2022, one year after the coup, "Everyday Myanmar 2" was held.
Gallery Tosei has been involved with Myanmar since 2013 through photo exhibitions by photographer Hitoshi Kameyama and the publication of his photo books. We planned the photo exhibition "Everyday Myanmar 3" with the idea of being close to the people of Myanmar who seek freedom and peace, and to send a message about Myanmar to society.
Gallery Tosei
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