Things make me think often what is recently asked of photographic expression. In an era in which digitally filed photographs are spewed and consumed daily over the internet amidst a flood of information, encountering Tenmi Hanagi’s works that tell of a delicate darkness with a calm and collected sense of silence is like taking a breath of fresh air. The way she takes photography accepts “Ichigo- Ichie” (every moment is one in a life time) encounters with time space. In the world, her eyes lock on the interactions between human-beings and tools that have not changed in a 1000 years are engraved finely without excess and deficiency. Her works makes me imagine to be improved even better by collaborating with master craftsmen who take over traditional technique, collotype. If craftsman’s living way is to constantly keep working silently and selflessly, I have inspiration this portfolio has a foundation to face the craftsmen’s spirit equally.

– Naoko Ohta Juror, Hariban Award 2014

Bio

In 1991, Tenmi Hanagi started to make drawings and collages by herself. In 2003, she earnestly got into photo expression. She has been holding solo exhibitions regularly since 2005, mainly in Tokyo.