Guest Speaker: Chun-Yi Hsu
（Image researcher/ filmmaker, Ph.D., Dept. of Fine Arts, TNUA）
Moderator: Agnes (Tzu-ning) Liao
（Director, UP Gallery）
Japanese artist Takashi Arai works primarily with the daguerreotype process. His practice focuses on nuclear disasters and postwar memory, tracing sites from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Fukushima, as well as nuclear memorial locations across the United States. Through these images, he explores the complex relationship between human development and catastrophe.
Starting from the concept of photography as a visual medium that carries time, materiality, and memory, this artist talk will further explore how images shape our understanding of history, opening up new reflections and imaginings of established narratives.
Japanese artist Takashi Arai works primarily with the daguerreotype process. His practice focuses on nuclear disasters and postwar memory, tracing sites from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Fukushima, as well as nuclear memorial locations across the United States. Through these images, he explores the complex relationship between human development and catastrophe.
Starting from the concept of photography as a visual medium that carries time, materiality, and memory, this artist talk will further explore how images shape our understanding of history, opening up new reflections and imaginings of established narratives.
About the Artist
Takashi Arai
Born Kawasaki, Japan, 1978
Lives Berlin, Germany, and Kawasaki
Arai’s work has been exhibited widely in Japan and internationally, including at Yokohama Museum of Art (2006); Timeless Gallery, Beijing (2011 and 2015); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2013); Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston (2015); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) (2017); and Purdy Hicks Gallery, London (2020).
Arai’s awards have included the Source-Cord Prize, United Kingdom (2014); the 41st Kimura Ihei Photography Award, Japan (2016); and the short film category at the 72nd Salerno Film Festival, Italy (2018).
His work is in the collections of museums including the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; MFA Boston; SFMOMA; National Museum of Modern Art (MOMAT), Tokyo; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; and Musée Guimet, Paris.
His monographs include Hyaku no Taiyō / Hyaku no Kagami – Syashin to Kioku no Migiwa (One Hundred Suns / One Hundred Mirrors – On the Shore of Photography and Memory), published by Iwanami Shoten (2023), and Monuments, published by PGI (2015).
About the Artist
Takashi Arai
Born Kawasaki, Japan, 1978
Lives Berlin, Germany, and Kawasaki
Arai’s work has been exhibited widely in Japan and internationally, including at Yokohama Museum of Art (2006); Timeless Gallery, Beijing (2011 and 2015); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2013); Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston (2015); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) (2017); and Purdy Hicks Gallery, London (2020).
Arai’s awards have included the Source-Cord Prize, United Kingdom (2014); the 41st Kimura Ihei Photography Award, Japan (2016); and the short film category at the 72nd Salerno Film Festival, Italy (2018).
His work is in the collections of museums including the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; MFA Boston; SFMOMA; National Museum of Modern Art (MOMAT), Tokyo; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; and Musée Guimet, Paris.
His monographs include Hyaku no Taiyō / Hyaku no Kagami – Syashin to Kioku no Migiwa (One Hundred Suns / One Hundred Mirrors – On the Shore of Photography and Memory), published by Iwanami Shoten (2023), and Monuments, published by PGI (2015).
About the Guest Speaker
Hsu Chun-Yi
Hsu Chun-Yi is an experimental image researcher and filmmaker. He holds a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts. His research focuses on visual culture, contemporary philosophy, and the aesthetics of photography and film, with his work and research emerging from the intersection of imagery, thought, and technology. His works—often rooted in experimental film, found footage, and still-image cinema—have been featured in "Film Diary NYC," "Island: UK/Taiwan Moving Image Festival," "Now & After’20 International Video Art Festival," "Taiwan Annual," and "Taipei Poetry Festival". He is also the co-founder of "non-syntax Experimental Image," where he works to establish cross-regional connections through various exhibition and research projects.
About the Guest Speaker
Hsu Chun-Yi
Hsu Chun-Yi is an experimental image researcher and filmmaker. He holds a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts. His research focuses on visual culture, contemporary philosophy, and the aesthetics of photography and film, with his work and research emerging from the intersection of imagery, thought, and technology. His works—often rooted in experimental film, found footage, and still-image cinema—have been featured in "Film Diary NYC," "Island: UK/Taiwan Moving Image Festival," "Now & After’20 International Video Art Festival," "Taiwan Annual," and "Taipei Poetry Festival". He is also the co-founder of "non-syntax Experimental Image," where he works to establish cross-regional connections through various exhibition and research projects.
About the Moderator
Agnes (Tzu-ning) Liao
Agnes (Tzu-ning) Liao has served as Director of UP Gallery since 2016, focusing on contemporary art photography. She is the Asia-Pacific nominator for Prix Pictet and is committed to identifying and advancing Asian artists on the international stage. Under her direction, the gallery has expanded its presence through major fairs including Paris Photo, Photo London, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, and Tokyo Gendai. She works closely with institutions, collectors, and museums to strategically position the gallery’s artists within the global art ecosystem. She holds a Master’s degree in Photography from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London, and is a reviewer of the book Photography and the Art Market.
About the Moderator
Agnes (Tzu-ning) Liao
Agnes (Tzu-ning) Liao has served as Director of UP Gallery since 2016, focusing on contemporary art photography. She is the Asia-Pacific nominator for Prix Pictet and is committed to identifying and advancing Asian artists on the international stage. Under her direction, the gallery has expanded its presence through major fairs including Paris Photo, Photo London, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, and Tokyo Gendai. She works closely with institutions, collectors, and museums to strategically position the gallery’s artists within the global art ecosystem. She holds a Master’s degree in Photography from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London, and is a reviewer of the book Photography and the Art Market.
*On-site interpretation will be provided for the above event.
*On-site interpretation will be provided for the above event.
