Yuhki Touyama - Scenes of Absence

POETIC SCAPE is pleased to present Scenes of Absence (Nokosareta Fukei), Yuhki Touyama's first solo exhibition with the gallery, open from January 11, 2025.

Since Kyoukai-sen 13 (Line 13), Yuhki Touyama has been capturing the themes of life and death, loss, the absence of loved ones, and the invisible in her photographs. In recent years, she has gained increasing attention for her work, notably through a two-person exhibition with Miyako Ishiuchi titled Toushi Suru Madobe (Views through my window) at the KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival 2023.

Scenes of Absence consists of landscape photographs taken by Touyama during the days she was looking after her grandmother, alongside black-and-white photographs which were captured when she imagined the world from her grandmother’s perspective. Touyama had a close bond with her grandmother, whom she often visited as a child. She described her grandmother as "talkative, fashionable, and above all, very understanding. It felt like our relationship was closer and more intimate than would be between a typical grandmother and granddaughter (from publication Scenes of Absence) ."

In September 2020, Touyama took over home care for her grandmother, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She devoted herself to repaying the kindness her grandmother had shown her throughout her life. However, as time went on, she came to face the difficult realities of caregiving and end-of-life care. Touyama says taking photographs during the brief moments of respite she had throughout these days refreshed her mind and helped her to stay grounded.

The black and white photographs at the heart of this exhibition were taken about a month before Touyama's grandmother passed away. The series was inspired by a visit to Robert Adams' photobook This Day during a period when Touyama had fled home, overwhelmed by the challenges of caring for her grandmother. Struck by Adams' ability to capture the mundane with a fresh perspective, she decided to photograph the view through windows - a gesture reflecting her desire to understand her grandmother, who was unable to leave the house because of her struggle with hallucinations. Throughout this work, it can be said that Touyama’s photography served as a form of care for others.

Historically, many works have used photography to explore themes of death or the absence of others. This work follows in that tradition, woven as an attempt to engage in a conversation with her late grandmother. However, her grandmother herself does not appear in the photographs. The colored photographs are all of everyday scenes that Touyama observed and captured while the black and white photographs are interpretations of her grandmother’s perspective." It is evident that, despite their closeness, the caregiver and the one receiving care lived in different realities, experiencing separate moments. Touyama’s unspoken awareness is also noticeable - that she could not direct the camera toward her grandmother. The absence is felt more strongly and extends beyond the relationship between Touyama and her grandmother. It also hints at a broader theme, suggesting that the absence transcends personal loss and taps into something deeper within the collective human experience.