Apr 28th Tue,– May. 9th Sat, 2026
12:00~18:00(last day ~17:00)
In the mid-19th century, shortly after photography was invented, there was a European custom known as “postmortem photography,” in which photographs of the deceased were taken to make them appear as if they were still alive.Today, it is even possible to communicate with the deceased using AI, but an unavoidable sense of resistance remains. So instead of a person, I photographed a cicada shell and fed it into AI.From the shell, a vestige of life, the AI created an astonishing creature.It was an “Utsusemi,” an empty shell, bizarre in appearance, like an Ultraman monster, yet possessing a certain majestic beauty. I decided to create 100 of these empty shell and include them in an illustrated encyclopedia, along with explanatory text created by the AI. Through this compilation, I realized an ironic fact. The air shells never die, but are accumulated in the cloud, repeating and multiplying as new learning resources, continuing to consume the Earth’s limited resources. But despite being the one who initiated their creation, I do not have the authority to put an end to them.
MIYAKE Akiyosh
Born in Kobe in 1950
Graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts in 1976
Solo Exhibitions
1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1988 Solo Exhibitions at Shinanobashi Gallery, Galerie 16, and others
2018 Ungeziefer Galerie 16
2018-20 Typology for Traces of Gable Roofs / KG+ LUMENGallery
2021 Typology for Traces of Gable Roofs, Kyoto Museum of Photography
2023 Déjà vu, KG+2023 / KG+ The Side
Vanishing Point of Recollection, City Gallery 2320
2024 Fantasy, KG+ Contemporary Gallery
Sons of Mitochondrial Eve, Gallery Shiro
2025 Daughters of Mitochondrial Eve, KG+ Galerie 16
Group Exhibitions
1972, 1989, 1990, 1995 OURWORKS Exhibition, Osaka Contemporary Art Center, etc.
1973 Tanaka Isao + Miyake Akiyoshi, Gallery Iteza
1977 Kobayashi Nobuo + Miyake Akiyoshi, Shinanobashi Gallery
1979 Experiment: Methods and Developments of 34 Artists, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
1982 Fujimoto Hideki + Miyake Akiyoshi, Kobe Contemporary Art Gallery
2017 Miyake Akiyoshi x Fujimoto Hideki / 1974 → 2017 Kyoto Saga University of Arts
2017-24 How are you, PHOTOGRAPHY?, Gallery Maronie
2018-22 COLOR PARTY WEST Irorimura
2021 “Repetition and Difference,” Hagiwara Sakumi x Miyake Akiyoshi / KG + LUMEN Gallery
2024 Gaze into the Wall, Gallery Heptagon
Diffusion of Photography, Poetry, and AI Representation: Space 31
Open Competition Exhibitions
1997 Osaka Triennale 1997
1998, 1999 Contemporary Japanese Art Exhibition
2000 Krakow International Print Triennial
2021-25 FoToZoFIo 2021-2025
2022 3rd Makurazaki International Art Award
Awards
1997 Printz 21 Grand Prix Exhibition, Runner-up
1998 Contemporary Japanese Painting Exhibition, Honorable Mention
1998 Kyoto Art and Crafts Exhibition, Excellence Award
1999 Kyoto Exhibition, Kyoto Exhibition Award
2000 Sapporo International Print Biennale, Mr. Q Award
2002 17th Kyoto Art Festival International Exchange Exhibition, Chinese Consulate General Award
Photobook
2020 “Typology for Traces of Gable Roofs” (AKAAKA Publishing)
Collection
Kyoto Saga University of Arts, City Gallery 2320, Space31
