Horie grew up in Kyoto and studied photography and design at Kyoto University of Art and Design, before moving to Kingston University in London. In 2013 she returned to Japan and since then has lived and worked in Yamanaka Onsen, Kaga, in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Each step in the creation of Horie’s works is done by hand. From the mountains near the old house where she resides, she collects gampi, a plant famous for its fiber which is used in high-grade Japanese paper (washi). Using the natural water flowing nearby, she then crafts sheets of washi, which she uses as the paper for her works. She takes photographs with a camera, produces negatives, and prints the images herself, using natural sunlight on the washi made by herself. The plentiful availability of clean water around her studio in Ishikawa is essential to her production process–not only for securing or making gampi paper, but also for developing and printing her photographs.
Horie’s images are "cyanotypes," which is an early photographic method invented in 19th century Europe. Her photographs are blue in color, due to the result of a reaction of cyanide and oxides when exposed to light. This is the origin of the word "blueprint.” Her work has attracted significant attention, including in exhibitions outside of Japan.
Ten years have passed since Horie moved to her current location, with its plentiful water, forested mountain and valley landscapes. This environmentally is ideally suited to her creative process. Horie, who has been passionately recording through photography the transitions of nature around her, adds that in recent years she has been living and working to preserve Japanese cultural traditions. She tries to preserve the language of flowers in the poetry of the 8th century, Manyoshu, and the disappearing Japanese weaving and kimono techniques and designs.
Beauty, fragility, and strength coexist in Horie’s work, which is expressed using an early European photographic technique of sunlight exposure on handmade Japanese paper. The rich gradations of blue color give a sense of depth and immersion in an experience that spans cultural differences and nostalgically reminds one of the passage of time.
This is Horie’s first solo exhibition at Sokyo Gallery, and we hope you will take this rare opportunity to see her work.
In connection with this exhibition, Horie's pieces will also be exhibited at our booth at Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK), which will be held at the Kyoto International Conference Center from October 28-30, which we also hope you can visit.
Mika Horie
Born 1984 in Kyoto. Currently based in Yamanaka Onsen, Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture. She received her BFA in Information Design at Kyoto University of Art and Design in 2007 and in 2009 an MFA in Fine Art from Kingston University, London. Major exhibitions include WATERFRONT II, trace, Kyoto (2018); Life is a Circle, Kamiji-Kakimoto, Kyoto (2019); and Trees, Water, and Light, IBASHO Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium (2022). Major art fairs include Paris Photo, France (2022); Kogei Art Fair Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan (2022).
For more information and images, please contact:
info@gallery-sokyo.jp / Tel: 075-746-4456
Sokyo Gallery | 381-2 Motomachi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0089 Japan
