ContemporaryTokyo is honored to present MINAMI MIYAJIMA’s solo exhibition “FRAGMENTS OF THE HORIZON” from February 8 to February 22. 

Since April 4, 2021, at 4:44 PM, MINAMI MIYAJIMA has been running her own art gallery, In this solo exhibition, held for the first time in two years, she will showcase her signature works featuring densely arranged rectangular forms.

MINAMI MIYAJIMA Solo Exhibition
Title: “FRAGMENTS OF THE HORIZON”
Dates: February 8 (Sat) – February 22 (Sat), 2025
Opening Hours: 12:00 – 18:00 / Closed on Sundays and Mondays
Venue: Terrada Art Complex Ⅱ 2F, 1-32-8 Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
(Design by Junya Hirohata)

Artist’s Statement

"As a child, whenever I faced something painful or unpleasant, I would close my eyes, curl up, press my arms tightly against my body, and wait for the images to appear behind my eyelids—an act of escaping from reality. At first, what I saw was a field of fine black-and-white noise, which then transformed into a vast and empty space. Countless tiny pixels scattered like a sandstorm, and as my perspective pulled back, a landscape made up of lines would emerge.

This world, shaped in black and white, was both a “cityscape” and a reflection of my own extreme way of thinking—a stark contrast of 0 and 100. A world where mid-tones were expressed through the fineness of pixels, making it feel like an endless sandstorm, imbued with a certain sense of nothingness.

Recalling these inner landscapes, I first sketch them digitally before transferring them onto canvas. This process creates a sense of detachment, allowing me to distance myself from personal emotions and unnecessary sentimentality. Looking back at what led me to this artistic approach, I realized how deeply influenced I was by my hometown, Baika in Konohana Ward. This act of creation felt inevitable, as if I were piecing together an answer.

Reconstructing urban spaces using only minimal colors and lines is, to me, an attempt to extract the “common denominator” of the places where people have grown up or currently live, translating them into the language of painting. As I worked, I began to feel that these images might resonate with someone’s own fundamental landscape. This exhibition presents an installation that allows viewers to experience this process of escape and the memories of fictional spaces.

The works on display are like fragments of memories, suspended in space, forming an environment that is neither entirely real nor entirely imaginary. These landscapes possess both instability and universality, much like liminal spaces.

To depict inorganic, abstract landscapes is, for me, a dialogue with my inner self. These landscapes will continue to evolve, just as I do.”

— MINAMI MIYAJIMA