アトリエリッケンバッカー

Atelier Ricken Backer

1｜First, We Arrive. Then, We Talk.
Within the history of human travel, one of the most historical and representative movements is the Great Journey. Humanity walked from Africa to South America, establishing places to live and cultivating each land along the way. In the contemporary era, humans have also been freed from physical constraints and have come to secure a place even within the digital realm.
This exhibition presents where the artists stand today within the continuum of human movement from past to present.
This history is interpreted through the concepts of the unknown and construction. To step into the unknown and build culture there.Human travel universally embodies both physicality and spirituality, and through repetition has continued to expand. This trajectory shows no sign of coming to a halt.
The practices of these photographers likewise trace this path while proposing new directions. When engaging with their investigations and expressions—grounded in an understanding of the past and its materialisation.A sensation emerges as though one were moving back and forth between time and place.
Standing at the midpoint between what once was and what is now, their role as a bridge is received as a weighty one.
This perspective may not be limited to photographers alone, but may apply to all those who seek to live wisely. In an era in which the information society has been further accelerated by the internet, it is necessary to once again reconsider how and where individuals arrive, and what they choose to gaze upon.

２｜echo
Throughout history, many philosophers and creators have spoken of the power of imagination that resides within human beings. The act of imagining is an ordinary right equally granted to all people, and at the same time a fundamental human desire to envision how one wishes to be. This invisible presence, imagination, does not arise as a single, fixed image; rather, it is formed through the overlapping of multiple layers. A simple example can be found in the act of seeing a bird and imagining the sky, projecting onto it a sense of freedom. Within such an image lie layers of emotion, memory, experience, and social context, folded one upon another.

Many of the objects and environments that people encounter in everyday life are the result of human desires having passed through imagination and becoming materialised. Yet the fact that imagination lies at their point of origin is rarely considered consciously. Imagination continually exists behind the scenes of daily life, but because it remains invisible, it is often overlooked. This exhibition focuses on the layers of imagination held within each artist, and is curated from the perspective of examining from which layers their works emerge. By rendering visible the overlapping structures embedded within imagination, the exhibition seeks to create new points of connection between the works and the viewer.