The First Resonance

POETIC SCAPE is pleased to present "The First Resonance", a solo exhibition by Masako Kakizaki, on view from January 17 to February 22, 2026. This marks Kakizaki’s second solo exhibition at POETIC SCAPE.

In her previous series "Aononymous", Kakizaki chose the landscapes of her hometown, Aomori, as her subject. The title is a coined word combining “Aomori” and “anonymous.” As the title suggests, the artist sought to strip specific places of the signs and meanings imposed by humans, attempting to approach a state of anonymity.

"The First Resonance", Kakizaki’s first new body of work in seven years, began when she deliberately took some distance from Aomori and turned her attention to the landscapes closest to her. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when outings and travel were inevitably restricted, she found herself reexamining her immediate surroundings. These familiar scenes, she recalls, were filled with unexpected discoveries and quiet joy.

Kakizaki photographs these landscapes by observing and accepting them as they are. Through this process, she began to sense the presence of a world fundamentally different from that of humans. Simply seeing what is before one’s eyes, accepting without judgment—such an attitude may be akin to the act of listening intently.

In Japan, nature and daily life have long been understood as inseparable. Forms of nature worship and proto-Shinto sensibilities—reverence and awe directed toward the forest itself—have persisted beneath the surface of Japanese culture, even as they have changed shape over time. As seen in animism and mandala-like worldviews, humans and nature are not separated, but coexist as elements within a single, simultaneous whole.

At the same time, recent research grounded in plant ecology has revealed that plants perceive their environments and interact with one another, forming networks of coexistence. In this light, the forest emerges as a society—one that has evolved through structures fundamentally different from those of human society.

Rather than attempting to intellectually comprehend this world that exists so close by yet operates according to a different time and logic, Kakizaki chooses simply to stand before it and accept it. The “resonance” referenced in the exhibition’s title may be something that both separates and connects these different societies—human and non-human alike. It does not appear in any clear or tangible form. Yet, as a state of being that precedes meaning and language, it quietly rises to the surface within the photographs themselves.