Canon Marketing Japan Inc presents the global premiere of Jewels in the Night Sea, a solo exhibition by Ryo Minemizu, one of Japan’s emerging stars in the field of marine life photography, and the 2017 Grand Prize Winner of the Nikkei National Geographic Photo Prize. The Canon touring show, which is mounted in Canon Galleries in three Japanese cities — Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka– features 40 of Minemizu’s photographs of plankton, tiny living things invisible to the naked eye that sparkle in the sea at night like precious jewels.
Apart from bacteria, these plants, animals, and other types of organisms (measuring mainly 2mm to 40 mm) are the most abundant life form on earth and play a critical role in the marine food chain. These surprisingly sturdy creatures for their size are equipped by nature with survival mechanisms that enable them to change their form to protect themselves from prey.
To create his photographs of plankton, Minemizu spends 2-8 hours underwater daily, remaining as close as possible to shoot his tiny subjects.He works with a fast shutter speed controlling the Depth of Field to just fractions of seconds while paying close attention to the movement of the water around the plankton. After 20 years of diving and photographing, Minemizu continues to be awestruck by the magic and mystery of marine life and the wide variety of shapes and colors of the world’s smallest sea creatures.
“Plankton symbolize how precious life is by their tiny existence. I wanted other people to see them as they are in the sea, so it was my motivation from the beginning to shoot plankton underwater which is quite a challenge. Most plankton are small, and their movements are hard to predict.”
At night, plankton in the larva stage approach the coast and undergo metamorphosis.Minemizu captures this moment of transformation from juvenile to adult employing a lighting method he has created registered under the name Black Water Dive®. His method of “night diving” involves setting a stage underwater using strobes and other forms of lighting to capture what cannot be seen by the naked eye in a photograph.
The touring exhibition is accompanied by a photo book published by Nikkei National Geographic.
Canon Gallery Nagoya / September 6-12 (Tel: 052-209-6180)
Nagoya Inner City 1F
Nishiki 1-11-11, Naka-ku Nagoya-city Aichi-prefacture, 460-0003
Gallery Hours: 10:00-18:00 (Last day until 15:00)
Artist talk: 13:00 on Sept 6 (Thurs) and Sept 8 (Sat)
Canon Gallery Osaka / September 20-26 (Tel: 06-7739-2125)
Nakanoshima Testival Tower 1F
Nakanoshima 3-2-4, Kita-ku, saka-city, 530-0005
Gallery Hours: 10:00p18:00 (Last day until 15:00)
Artist talk: 13:00 on Sept 20 (Thurs) and Sept 22 (Sat)
Jewels in the Night Sea – Book Details:
Softcover / Publication Date: August 2018
100 images, 144 pages,
249cm x 213cm; ¥2700 + tax in Japan
