This spring, IBASHO provides the setting for the first exhibition in the Benelux by Japanese photographer Shimpei Yamagami. His work questions the act of looking and is highly regarded in his native country.
Shimpei Yamagami was born in 1984 in the Japanese region of Kanagawa. He studied at Tokyo Visual Arts and began his artistic practice around 2010. Since then, he has taken part in numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad and has published several photo books.
Yamagami’s work demonstrates how perception itself can shape the image. He explores observation rather than seeking to control or master his subject.
The series Epiphany comprises photographs made between 2018 and 2021. These works were previously shown in the group exhibition Leap Before You Look at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and have since been acquired for the permanent collection of the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.
Epiphany is about embracing the unknown. Working in both black and white and colour, Yamagami moves between tangible subjects and abstract motifs. His images carry a sense of stillness, as though photography offers access to an underlying truth that is not immediately perceptible.
Shimpei Yamagami: “It is important for me to continue sharpening the sensitivity of my nerves so that they can perceive as much as possible. Photography continually brings a new horizon. For a long time, I photographed feverishly, from a pronounced perspective. Now I focus more on the simple. Spirituality also resides in primitive forms. I am curious to see where this phase will lead me.”
The exhibition will be on view from 21 March to 3 May 2026 at IBASHO in Antwerp. The vernissage will take place on Saturday 21 March from 14:00 to 18:00, in the presence of the artist.
Shimpei Yamagami – Epiphany | 21.03 - 03.05.2026
Artist talk: Saturday 21 March at 16:00.
