Conceptual Definition: FRP Sculptural Photography and the Imperative of "Embodied Materialization" — Exhibition Statement for 'Aim for a Solo Exhibition 2026/FINAL'
- 中村 有一｜YUICHI NAKAMURA
- 4月30日
- 読了時間: 2分
I am currently exhibiting at "Aim for a Solo Exhibition 2026/FINAL" at Gallery Nadar, Setagaya, Tokyo (April 29 – May 10, 2026). In this exhibition, I manifest "FRP Sculptural Photography," a newly synthetic expressive format that integrates my proprietary perceptual architecture with my technical provenance. This methodology transcends the mere display of photographic prints; it is a brutal physical interrogation through which raw memory is permanently transmuted into matter.
The foundational framework of this practice is articulated through the following four core concepts:
Embodied Materialization
The spine of my practice is forged from three decades of specialized craft in precision optical glass fabrication, synchronized with visceral bodily experiences in motorsports and commercial diving—extreme environments where my physical survival was absolutely dependent upon industrial FRP (Fiber-Reinforced Plastic). Forfeiting a past spent rigorously refining matter to control light flawlessly, I now execute a critical inversion: anchoring memories of existential crisis within the chaotic, non-linear distortions of industrial polymer resin. This is the transmigration of past somatics into present weight—a rigorous practice of Embodied Materialization.
Hapticity
While traditional photography remains a sight-dominant medium, my structural objects violently extend the two-dimensional image into a tactile reality by stratifying traditional Japanese Washi paper and polyester resin. The complex, irregular refraction of light generated by the chemical reaction between organic fibers and polymer fluids directly responds to the physical movement and gaze of the viewer. This dismantles passive voyeurism, engineering a bidirectional haptic interrogation where sight and touch become inseparable.
Temporal Layering
Multiple axes of non-linear time are permanently compressed within the strata of the resin. The archival memory of my origin—the subterranean spring water of the Ochiai River discharging 10,000 tons daily—merges with three decades of precise industrial labor as an optical lens artisan, and the immediate "now" of the chemical curing process. These disparate chronological currents collide and solidify within the chemical layers, locking the irreversible flow of time into a permanent physical monument of fluid fluctuation.
Stabilizing Instability
The radical thermal runaway engineered during the curing process is not an industrial defect; it is a material affirmation of existential vulnerability. By aggressively manipulating temperature cycles to induce deliberate structural collapse and contraction, the polymer yields highly unpredictable, brutalist contours. This form flatly rejects the illusion of clinical completion, permanently arresting the work in a state of vital, uncompleted life.
About the Exhibition
During the exhibition, while I am present at the gallery, viewers are invited to directly handle and physically experience these structural FRP objects with their own flesh. (Note: Access to touch the works is strictly limited to my scheduled hours of presence).
Transcending the sterile pixels of visual imagery, this is the internal luminescence emitted by photography confronting its own physical weight. I invite you to intercept my absolute current locus through your own tactile observation.
Yuichi Nakamura Contemporary Artist
National Registry for Individual Creators (ID: 614/2069) Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
