In the landscape surrounding the ordinary river onto which dry northern light shines, the children play without having any kind of imposed desperateness, but they live in earnest as an act of the everyday. All connotations about the intermediate “uncertainty” of the children in the river signify the “debt” that all of us owe and the support for our existence, regardless of their nationality, race and distance from us. Osamu Wataya’s photographs do not just bring us awareness of our own childhood, but even when children are not beside us, also tell us the significance and pleasure of sharing secrets and mysteries, both as a good and bad “friend.” ［from "Children of the Outside" by Shino Kuraishi］

Rat Hole Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Osamu Wataya's latest work Juvenile on view from Friday, July 23. In conjunction with the exhibition, Rat Hole Gallery will publish Juvenile, a 128pg color photo book featuring Wataya's latest work as well as an essay by photography critic Shino Kuraishi.

-- Wataya directs his lens as an observer - or rather an “outsider”- as he photographs the juveniles with traces of humor and melancholy. Inherent in his images is neither a desire to be among the young generation nor a reminiscence of own youth but simply a feeling of unconditional respect towards the children and his chance encounter with them. While the physical scene of these teenagers playing in the river lies far away, their existence is emotionally close not only to the photographer but also to the viewer.

Osamu Wataya
Juvenile

Book release date: July 23, 2010　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
55 photographs, 128pages
Text by: Shino Kuraishi 'Children of the Outside'
Price: 4200yen (tax included)　
Published by: RAT HOLE GALLERY

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