Canon Marketing Japan to Host Curated Exhibition for Grand Prix and Excellence Award Winners of the 3rd Photographer and Filmmaker Discovery Audition 'GRAPHGATE'

Canon Marketing Japan Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Masachika Adachi; hereinafter 'Canon MJ') will host the 'GRAPHGATE Project Exhibition' at Canon Galleries, featuring the works of five winners—Grand Prix and Excellence Award recipients—from the 3rd edition of the photographer and filmmaker discovery audition 'GRAPHGATE (Gurafu Gēto)'.

To discover and support passionate new talents, Canon MJ launched 'GRAPHGATE' in April 2023 as a new initiative. Winners receive equipment support from Canon MJ, including camera and lens loans, as well as opportunities to present their works at Canon Gallery S (Shinagawa), Canon Gallery Ginza, and Canon Gallery Osaka.

In the 2nd edition held in 2024, one Grand Prix and four Excellence Award winners were selected. As one of the prizes, winners were offered solo exhibition opportunities at Canon Gallery S (Shinagawa) and Canon Galleries in Ginza and Osaka.

For this project exhibition, the Grand Prix winner of the 3rd 'GRAPHGATE' held in 2025, Shunji Okuda, will exhibit at Canon Gallery S, while Excellence Award winners Aiko Ogane, Sakiko Ono, kokoro, and Takahiro Mizushima will showcase their works at Canon Galleries in Ginza and Osaka. After the conclusion of the 3rd 'GRAPHGATE', the five winners have continued to pursue new themes and create new works in preparation for this exhibition. This exhibition serves as a milestone reflecting their creative journeys—what they have thought, how they have created, and what they aim to express in the future—through the GRAPHGATE platform.

Canon MJ will continue to support the activities of selected artists and contribute to the development of photographic and visual culture through 'GRAPHGATE'.

● Exhibition Periods and Venues

● Gallery Information

〇 Opening Hours: Shinagawa: 10:00–17:30 Ginza: 10:30–18:30 Osaka: 10:00–18:00

〇 Closed Days: Shinagawa: Sundays and national holidays Ginza and Osaka: Sundays, Mondays, and national holidays

〇 Addresses and Access: Shinagawa: 1F, Canon S Tower, 2-16-6 Kohnan, Minato-ku, Tokyo Approximately 8 minutes on foot from the Kohnan exit of JR Shinagawa Station, or 10 minutes from Keikyu Shinagawa Station

Ginza: 3-9-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 2 minutes on foot from Toei Subway Higashi-Ginza Station, 3 minutes from Tokyo Metro Ginza Station

Osaka: 1 Nakanoshima Festival Tower West, 3-2-4 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka Direct access from Higobashi and Watanabe-bashi Stations, 5 minutes from Yodoyabashi Station, 8 minutes from JR Kitashinchi Station, and 11 minutes from JR Osaka Station

〇 Admission: Free

● Featured Artists

【Shunji Okuda】

〇 Period: Friday, November 13 – Tuesday, December 15 (Canon Gallery S)

〇 Title: 'Standing on the Ground, Floating (Provisional)'

〇 Exhibition Overview

The exhibition will include works presented at GRAPHGATE, a photo series of his grandfather diagnosed with terminal cancer, a series capturing his wife in daily life, and a new video work in which he appears. By turning the camera toward his close family and himself, Okuda re-examines the inescapable gravity of the body and the 'buoyancy' of life that lifts it.

〇 Profile

Born in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, in 1999.

In high school, he began recording conversations with friends and people he met on the street using a video camera, which marked the beginning of his work in video and photography. Since then, he has continued creating works independently and currently works as a photographer and filmmaker. His works explore the relationship between the individual and the world, centered on the 'individuality' and 'finiteness' of the human body.

Instagram: shunjiokuda_8310

HP: shunjiokuda.com

【Sakiko Ono】

〇 Period: Tuesday, August 18 – Saturday, August 22 (Canon Gallery Ginza) Tuesday, October 6 – Saturday, October 10 (Canon Gallery Osaka)

〇 Title: 'Parallel Self-Portrait'

〇 Statement

In the afterword of my previous photo book 'The Before and After of Family,' I wrote:

'Thanks to the existence of various friends, I felt relieved. People who don’t want to marry, those who want to but can’t, those married with children, full-time housewives, those with health issues, those focused on work, those centered on hobbies, single mothers. Among these diverse categories, some seem happy, others unhappy, and I gradually realized that outcomes alone don’t determine happiness or unhappiness.'

Additionally, a visitor once said:

'Viewing your work made me aware of a resignation I had buried within myself.'

These two reflections inspired this new project.

Some life paths are chosen, others are unexpected outcomes. I wanted to listen to women of my generation about their past experiences.

I spoke with 15 women of my generation—those who spend weekends with their spouses, those raising children alone, those who chose not to marry, those who left jobs to focus on parenting, those who conceived after fertility treatments, those who did not, and those living with illness—standing side by side in front of a wobbling mirror.

Among them were individuals whose lives involved multiple overlapping experiences, impossible to describe in a single word.

I found strength in their honest and direct accounts of accepting their lives without sugarcoating.

I felt empathy, lightness, and occasional confusion for a few days, then returned to my usual self.

Looking / being looked at, shooting / being shot, speaking / listening.

To avoid one-sided relationships, I appeared in the photos and shared conversations with them.

〇 Profile

Began career as an advertising photographer, shooting primarily in the food sector for about 20 years.

After commercial photography experience, began creating works as an artist focusing on themes of 'family' and 'happiness,' publishing the photo book 'The Before and After of Family,' which re-examines family structures through infertility treatment.

Continues to explore and express changing family images and interpersonal relationships in modern society. Excellence Award winner, 3rd GRAPHGATE.

Instagram: @ame_haru_sakiko

【Aiko Ogane】

〇 Period: Tuesday, August 25 – Saturday, August 29 (Canon Gallery Ginza) Tuesday, October 13 – Saturday, October 17 (Canon Gallery Osaka)

〇 Title: 'Overflowing.'

〇 Statement

The foundation of my photographic expression is color perception.

Even when viewing the same color, differences in eye structure, culture, and personal experience lead to varied perceptions and feelings.

I create based on the colors I personally perceive.

For this exhibition, I will present my still-life series from among several ongoing projects.