Chieko Shiraishi｜ SHIMAKAGE Chieko Shiraishi

Chieko Shiraishi’s (b.1968) SHIMAKAGE is literally translated as ‘Island Shadow’ and this work brings together varying images taken from Japan’s surrounding islands and coastal areas. These images are an old retouching technique known as ‘zōkin-gake’ which was previously popular amongst amateur photographers in Japan during the 1920s and 30s. As a result, the images beautifully evoke a faded memory, the landscapes appear and disappear within the image from the photographers own memory, standing as faint silhouettes against the backdrop of an obscured memory.

Chieko Shiraishi

Born in Yokosuka City, Shiraishi began her career as a photographer in the late 1990s, and has exhibited at Gallery Kaido and Gallery Tosei. In recent years, she has also held a solo exhibition at Galerie Echo 119 in Paris. Shiraishi is known for her work using a technique called “Zokin-gake (rag wiping)” which became popular among amateur photographers in the 1920s and 1930s in Japan. She received the Jury Prize at the Benrido’s Hariban Award and her books include “Cactus and Tails”(Toseisha), “SHIMAKAGE’’(Seikyuusha), and “SHIKAWATARI” (Seikyuusha)’.

What is collotype?

In the 1880s, the collotype printing process was introduced to Kyoto and by 1905 Benrido had begun producing collotypes. Collotype is one of the earliest forms of printing techniques and was invented in France in 1855 by Alphonse Poitevin as a method for photographic fine art printing.  Due to the high level of print and archival quality, it has since been used primarily as a way to reproduce and preserve Japan’s National Treasures and cultural properties. Today Benrido Collotype Atelier remains as one of only a few studios left in the world capable of producing fine colour collotype prints.