Just a stone’s throw from the flower-lined river in Naka-Meguro, the Poetic Scape gallery has been transformed into a space bridging the past and the present, hosting artist Nozomi Suzuki’s solo exhibition Slow Glass—Afterglow: Transmission, Reflection, Refraction until 26 April 2026.
Stepping through the glass door of the Poetic Scape gallery, visitors find themselves wondering: have we, in fact, travelled back in time? Sunbeams filter across the dark wooden floor, revealing objects from days gone by that are as intriguing as they are poetic. These are the works of Japanese artist Nozomi Suzuki, whose photography brings to life the memories encapsulated within these objects.
The exhibition Slow Glass Afterglow: Transmission, Reflection, Refraction is inspired by a science-fiction concept theorised by the author Bob Shaw: ‘Slow Glass’, a material capable of retaining light and releasing it with a delay of several years. “Photography is, by its very nature, a medium that transmits, with a time lag, the light reflected by a subject from the past,” explains the artist. “Photography fixed onto objects embodies this light from days gone by, whilst the object itself is anchored in the here and now. I would like this discrepancy to create a temporality capable of linking yesterday to today. ”
Delicate transfers and emulsions thus come to inhabit various glass artefacts. A windowpane a relic salvaged from the home of pianist Kiyoshi Tanaka (1897–1955) reading glasses, a stereoscope or a mirror are transformed into mediums for transmission. Whether they are photographs developed in a darkroom or archive images, Nozomi Suzuki reinterprets them through the prism of light and time. “I think that what we see actually reaches us today, but with a delay, carried by light,” she explains.
A history of photography
Whilst we are physically in the present, in the heart of this intimate space in Tokyo’s Naka-Meguro district, Nozomi Suzuki’s works transport us on a journey through history. “The pieces on display in this exhibition are mainly British, with the exception of the large window, which comes from a Western-style house belonging to a musician in the Setagaya district,” explains the artist.
“Photography emerged with the Industrial Revolution, evolving in tandem with the intensification of modern visual culture. A thread-counting magnifying glass used to examine linen or cotton, a pocket watch illustrating the precise measurement of time: each object is chosen for its symbolic significance, reflecting fragments of an ancient perspective. ” Nozomi Suzuki weaves connections between these objects and pillars of Western thought, such as Darwin’s theory of evolution or biblical texts attributing vision to divine light, with light serving as the universal link.
On a pair of vintage spectacles, the artist has delicately printed a page from *On the Origin of Species*. “At a time when people still firmly believed in the divine creation of humankind, this book caused an intellectual earthquake. “I therefore selected these objects by imagining what might have existed within this continuity,” she emphasises. The gallery’s atmosphere, with its polished wooden floor and Danish-style wooden desk, fully contributes to this immersive experience. According to its founder, Takashi Kakishima, this layout evokes both the interior of a period home and a cabinet of curiosities. “The gallery has an almost domestic feel,” he concludes. “This creates an organic continuity where the boundaries between the space and the artwork blur. Everything seems to be in perfect harmony.”
Nozomi Suzuki – Slow Glass—Afterglow: Transmission, Reflection, Refraction
until 26 April 2026
Poetic Scape
4-4-10, 1st Floor
Nakameguro
Meguro City, 153-0061 Tokyo,
www.poetic-scape.com
