japanese photographer Kotori Kawashima‘s first exhibition in Korea, “Saran Ran,” will be heldfrom February 26 to October 12 at the Seoul Museum of Art, Annex M2, Seokpa-jeong, Seoul.

the name may not be familiar, but you’ll recognize Mirai-chan’s face. cheeks as red as winter strawberries, runny nose running down the tip of her nose, hair covering her eyes. kotori Kawashima’s unique photographic style, which captures the natural beauty of her subjects, has made herMiraichan series hugely popular in Japan and overseas, even topping the Japanese book bestseller lists. this exhibition will feature 309works, including “Mirai-chan,” from her first series, “BABY BABY,” to her newest work, “Sarang-ang,” which was shot in Seoul.

Content Information

“Saran Ran,” the name of the exhibition derived from the Korean word for “love

the exhibition’s name, “Saranran,” is a combination of the artist’s favorite Korean words for love and people. the two words sounded the same to Kotori Kawashima, who didn’t know much Korean, and he wrote ‘Saranran’ in a clumsy handwriting in his notebook. it’s an expression that captures his tender feelings for the unfamiliar city of Seoul. he chose the title of the exhibition to reflect this sentiment.

this is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Korea, and it is a project he has been preparing while traveling back and forth to Seoul since 2023.

309 moments recorded over 28 years

“It’ s too bad when you missa very good moment , because it never comes again.” – Kotori Kawashima

the exhibition will be held on three floors of the Seoul Museum of Art Annex, from the basement to the second floor.it is quite large for a solo exhibition by a single artist. there are 309 works on display, spanning more than 20 years of work, including the popular “Mirai-chan” series.

theexhibition also includes a wide range of other works, and the chronology of Kotori Kawashima’s work from 1997 to 2024 can be seen in one space. also on display aregelatin silver prints and C-Printprints made in the artist’s own darkroom.

“Big and cute Mirai-chan, meet her in person”

“Miraichan has many fans in Japan. this exhibition is a chance to meet her in person, not just in books or on the screen, but in large-scale photographs that fill the exhibition space.

mirai-chan is the daughter of the artist’s friend and grew up on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. for two years, the artist spent as little as three days and as much as ten days with Mirai-chan to capture her moments. the exhibition also includes “Vocalise,” which was shot during the same period.

this work is a series of photographs taken while traveling around Europewith Mirai-chan , including France, England, and Finland, and was published as a photo book in 2024. mirai-chan’s innocent gazeas she looks at the unfamiliar land and the fresh summerscenery leave a deep impression.

a foreigner’s view ofSeoul

in addition to the existing works, the exhibition will showcase more than 150 new works for the first time.

kotori Kawashima spent seven months between September 2023 and March 2024 traveling back and forth between Japan and Seoul. during the day, he walked around Seochon, and at night, he drank to music at Shindo, a bar in Euljiro . he captured tens of thousands of photos of Seoul as he saw it: old signs, people walking down the street, sunsets over the Han River, middle-aged men on the street, cats in the alleyways, and trash on the side of the road .

‘Sarang’ is the result. it is the result ofthe artist’s return to his roots and focus on the act of taking photographs. the familiar landscape of Seoul is illuminated through the eyes of a foreigner.

people captured byKotori

thepeople in Kotori Kawashima’s photographs are unadorned. their natural facial expressions and gestures exude a sense of honest beauty and mystery. the exhibition is interspersed with interview-style testimonials from Japanese actors Taiga Nakano and Asami Usuda, Japanese musician Aimon, and Korean filmmaker Yang Ik-joon. by reading their first-hand accounts of their experiences with the artist, the viewer realizes that the people in the photographs are not just subjects, but people with whom theartist shared emotions.

special moments withWoo Hyo’s music

the exhibition also features a special collaborationwith singer-songwriter Woo Hyo.

the artist revealed that Woo Hyo’s song “I’ll be crying when I get back” is his favorite, and he created a music video set to it. the piece is part of the “Sarangrang” series and was shot in Seoul.

it is also significant because it isthe artist’s first video workafter 20 years of photography . kotori’s portraits and landscapes, along with Woo Hyo’s music, are combined in the moving video to enhance the emotional impact of the exhibition.

exhibition Information

kotori Kawashima’s first exhibition in Korea, “Saran Ran,” will continue through October 12 at the Seoul Museum of Art, Annex M2.

why not experience for yourself what new stories the artist, who has been capturing people and moments from behind the camera for a long time, will tell in Seoul?