EVENTS

"KIKUJI KAWADA: The Map / Vision of the Invisible"

Exhibition within the framework of the "Arles Associé" series of the Rencontres d'Arles

Kikuji Kawada
From the series The Last Cosmology
© Kikuji Kawada, Courtesy PGI

KIKUJI KAWADA: The Map / Visions of the Invisible at VAGUE (Arles)
Curated by Sayaka Takahashi (PGI)
Co-produced by: SIGMA × KYOTOGRAPHIE

SIGMA and KYOTOGRAPHIE are honored to be part of the Rencontres d'Arles 2025 Program, following the success of our participation in 2024.

This year, we are proud to present KIKUJI KAWADA: The Map / Visions of the Invisible, an exhibition curated by Sayaka Takahashi, at VAGUE, Arles.

This exhibition draws from KYOTOGRAPHIE 2024, bringing together key works by Kikuji Kawada from his iconic series: The Map, The Last Cosmology, and Los Caprichos. For the international audience, it is an opportunity for a rare and engaging encounter with one of the most compelling voices in Japanese photography.

About the Exhibition

In 1965, twenty years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kikuji Kawada published the photo book "The Map," a symbolic and unsettling reflection on the memory of post-war Japan that marked a turning point in photographic narrative and brought his work to prominence. The current exhibition is based on the works from KYOTOGRAPHIE 2024, which brought together three of Kawada's most significant series: "The Map," which explores the fragmented identity of the nation through metaphor; "The Last Cosmology," a poetic meditation on Japan's transition from the Showa period to the end of the millennium; and "Los Caprichos," conceived during the country's economic boom and recently re-edited by the artist. Together, these works offer a rare view of a six-decade journey through Kawada's precise lens: an artistic and historical arc of time revealed by a scenography conceived specifically for Arles.

Curated by Sayaka Takahashi (PGI, Tokyo)

Who is KIKUJI KAWADA

Born in Ibaraki, Japan, in 1933, Kikuji Kawada is a pioneer of post-war Japanese photography. In 1955 he joined Shinchosha and later became a freelance photographer, co-founding the important VIVO collective in 1959 along with Akira Sato, Akira Tanno, Shomei Tomatsu, Ikko Narahara, and Eikoh Hosoe. His 1965 photo book, "The Map," is considered a milestone in the history of photography, rich in political metaphors about post-war Japan and experimental narratives.

Kawada describes his work as "the vision of a particular situation caught during the flow of time and my relationship with it and the style that arises from this interaction." Today he continues to create thought-provoking images and share his photographic reflections through digital platforms.

Exhibition Details

KIKUJI KAWADA: The Map / Vision of the Invisible at VAGUE (Arles)
Curated by Sayaka Takahashi (PGI)
Co-produced by: SIGMA × KYOTOGRAPHIE
Exhibition Opening: July 7 - September 5, 2025

*The festival runs until Friday, October 3.

*The exhibition is part of the "Arles Associé" series of the Rencontres d'Arles

Co-produced by:
KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival
www.kyotographie.jp/

Location: VAGUE, Arles
tystudio.fr/vague/about/

Curated by: PGI
https://www.pgi.ac/en/about-us/

About Les Rencontres de la photographie, Arles 2025

Founded in 1970 by photographer Lucien Clergue, Les Rencontres de la photographie d'Arles (Les Rencontres d'Arles) is the oldest and largest photography festival in the world, celebrating its 56th edition this year.

Known for inspiring KYOTOGRAPHIE, the festival features intriguing exhibitions presented also within the setting of historical monuments from the Roman era. It attracts photographers, curators, journalists, and enthusiasts from all over the world, and is an important moment for discovering new talent and promoting interdisciplinary exchange.

About KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival

KYOTOGRAPHIE is an international photography festival held in Kyoto, a city at the center of the world's attention as Japan's cultural and artistic capital. Every spring, the festival transforms into an engaging celebration of photography. More than just an exhibition, KYOTOGRAPHIE offers unique experiences where traditional and contemporary expressiveness merge. As a meeting place for different world views, it promotes new forms of dialogue and invites the public to see the city from different perspectives than usual. Free from the constraints of convention, KYOTOGRAPHIE is known for an innovative approach to scenography and installations curated down to the smallest detail. The experiences created by the festival reshape conventional expressive formats, connecting the audience to new ways of perceiving both the displayed works and the surrounding spaces. It is a multifaceted experience that could only be born in Kyoto.

KYOTOGRAPHIE aims to engage people by creating moments where differences are celebrated and the mutual contamination of the most varied experiences is encouraged.

A space where the unexpected is revealed, the festival is a time for building, dismantling, reinventing, and reconnecting, in continuous evolution.

The heart of KYOTOGRAPHIE is the Main Program. Each year, the festival's co-directors, Lucille Reyboz and Yusuke Nakanishi, establish a particular theme around which the program is developed and artists are invited to participate. Various locations in the city of Kyoto are transformed into special exhibition spaces thanks to the close collaboration between the KYOTOGRAPHIE team, the participating artists, sponsors, and the event's set designers.

About SIGMA

MADE IN AIZU, JAPAN

SIGMA is a Japanese manufacturer of lenses and cameras.

Since its founding in 1961, SIGMA has continued to innovate and raise the standards of optical engineering to the maximum, while maintaining a profound respect for the creativity with which photographers and video makers describe the world. The exceptional quality of "Made in Aizu, Japan" is made possible by SIGMA's sole production site, the Aizu factory, and our supply chain concentrated in the Tohoku region. This is the true essence of SIGMA: territory, craftsmanship, and technology.

"The art of engineering. Engineering for art."
As manufacturers of cameras and lenses, we have always been deeply motivated by the art of photography. We are inspired by the passion of photographers and video makers around the world and hope that our incessant pursuit of quality and innovation helps artists realize their visions. Supporting the photographic and visual arts in general is a fundamental principle of our corporate mission. In addition to our ongoing sponsorships and partnerships with numerous cultural festivals and events, as well as the maintenance, increase, and display of our photo book library, we will continue to expand and deepen our support for the visual arts through new initiatives such as this exhibition.

For more information
Official website of Les Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles:
www.rencontres-arles.com/en

Official website of KYOTOGRAPHIE:
www.kyotographie.jp/

Official page for The Map / Visions of the Invisible:
/www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/KikujiKawada