Miho Kajioka (b. 1973, Japan, lives in Kyoto) studied fine art in the United States and Canada and started her career as a journalist in her native country Japan. It was after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that Kajioka was reconnected to her photographic art. Two months after the disaster, while reporting in the coastal city of Kamaishi, where over 800 people died, she found roses blooming beside a blasted building. That mixture of grace and ruin made her think of a Japanese poem:
In the spring, cherry blossoms,
In the summer the cuckoo,
In autumn the moon, and in
Winter the snow, clear, cold.
Written by the Zen monk Dogen, the poem describes the fleeting, fragile beauty of the changing seasons. The roses Kajioka saw in Kamaishi bloomed simply because it was spring. That beautiful and uncomplicated statement, made by roses in the midst of ruin, impressed her, and returned her to photography.
The photos presented, span Kajioka’s adulthood, including pictures she took while living abroad, as well as scenes she captured in Japan after the disaster. The little pictures of a flower, or a running boy, are scenes from daily life, as it is. These fragments of her life, from various periods and against changing backdrops, are not so different from each other, and the differences that remain aren't important. Happiness, sadness, beauty and tragedy only exist in our minds. Things are just as they are.
Since 2013 Kajioka’s work has been exhibited in France, the Netherlands, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Spain.
Exhibitions
2023
How Long is Now ?, The Photographers' Gallery, London, UK,
September 15 to November 19 (Solo)
Dawn Chorus, The Photographers' Gallery, London, UK,
July 14 to September 10 (Group)
... and yes, I still hear the peacocks, IBASHO, Antwerp, Belgium,
March 25 to May 22 (Solo)
Perfectly Imperfect. Wabi Sabi in Photography and Ceramics, IBASHO, Antwerp, Belgium,
February 4 to March 12 (Group)
2021
#47 Mizu, IBASHO, Antwerp, Belgium,
June 17 to August 22 (Group)
2020
Do you open your eyes in the sea ?, Polka Galerie, Paris, France,
December 1 to February 27 (Solo)
Vertiges des Jours, Polka Galerie, Paris, France,
July 2 to September 5 (Group)
Wabi Sabi, IBASHO, Antwerp, Belgium,
June 11 to August 30 (Group)
ONLINE: Japan, Polka Galerie, Paris, France,
April 20 to May 20 (Group)
Beyond the Obvious, Ira Stehmann Fine Art, Munich, Germany,
March 9 to May10 (Group)
2019
time travel (duo exhibition with Rens Horn), de ketelfactory, Schiedam, the Netherlands (September 28 to December 22)
And, where did the peacocks go?, International Photo Festival InCadaqués, Cadaqués, Spain (September 20 to 29)
And, where did the peacocks go?, Kunstenfestival Watou, Watou, Belgium
(June 29 to September 1)
2018 (all solo)
So it goes, IBASHO Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium (September 9 to November 4)
So it goes, Caroline O’Breen Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
(September 8 to October 13)
Half a dozen, Residency Program, Lisbon, Portugal (May 24 to August 31)
Unfinished spaces, The Photographers’ Gallery, Print Sales, London, UK
(Feb 23 to April 14)
2017
And, where did the peacocks go?, Corden Potts Gallery, San Francisco, US (March 23 to April 29)
2016
And, where did the peacocks go?, Galerie VU', Paris, France (June 8 to September 2)
Et, où les paons sont-ils allés?, Festival La Gacilly Photo, France (June 3 to September 30)
Grace and Ruin, SeeLevel Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherland
And, where did the peacocks go?, Central Colombo Americano, Bogota, Colombia
2015
Renaissance Photography Prize, Getty Images Gallery, London, UK (Group)
And, did the peacocks go?, ARTBO, Bogota, Colombia (Solo)
And, where did the peacocks go?, Twenty 14 Contemporary, Milan, Italy (Solo)
UNREAL, M2 Gallery, Sydney, Australia (Group)
2014
LAYERS, Microprisma, Rome, Italy (Solo)
As it is, Fotografika Galerie, Gland, Switzerland (Solo)
Balade(s) Parcours Photographique, Galerie Le Neuf, Lodève, France (Group)
Boutographies, Montpellier, France (Group)
Catching tails, Linke., Milan, (Group)
2013
As it is, Centro Italiano della Fotografia d’Autore, Bibbiena, Italy (Group)
Reality and Emotion, Valid Foto BCN Gallery, Barcelona (Group)
Awards
2019
Photobook ‘so it goes’
Winner of the 64th Prix Nadar Gens d’image
2017
Photobook ‘And, where did the peacocks go?’
Kassel Photobook Award 2017 - One of 33 experts selection of the year, Kassel, Germany
2016
Photobook ‘I, Tralfamadorian’
Shortlisted for LUMA Dummy Book Award Arles, Arles, France
2015
The runner-up for best series, Renaissance Photo Prize, London, UK
Visitor Award, Portfolio Review, Düsseldorf Photoweekend, Dusseldorf, Germany
2014
Finalist, 2014 Emergentes dst 2014 at Encontros da Imagem, Braga, Portugal
Finalist, 2014 Voies Off Prize, Arles, France
Finalist, 2014 Boutographies, Montpellier, France
2013
One of the three finalists, 2013 Portfolio Italia, Gran Premio Epson, Bibbiena, Italy
First place, 2013 Fotoleggendo Award, Roma, Italy