Sony Corporation - Sony Imaging Gallery | Shu Kato Photo Exhibition

Shu Kato Photo Exhibition Òran Na Gaoithe - Song of the Wind

Dates: Friday, January 5 - Thursday, January 18, 202411:00～19:00

I am pleased to present Òran Na Gaoithe - Song of the Wind, an exhibition of photographs from the Hebrides, the Western Isles of Scotland. Òran Na Gaoithe means Song of the Wind in the language of the region (Scottish Gaelic).

The Hebrides, facing the Atlantic Ocean, are a particularly windy region. I toured the remote islands during the cold winter season, when few people visit. I visited ancient remains that have left untouched for thousands of years in winds that blew across the desolate land and encountered animals that lived robustly. I was deeply moved by the way of life of the people living on these harsh islands and the warmth of their interactions with them.

Scotland is a faraway country. But while I visited there many times, I was very wondering why I feel nostalgia and loneliness for a place that is not my birthplace. What is it that nurtures people's hearts? If nostalgic thoughts have a home, where is it? This group of works is from my travels searching for a part of the answer to these questions, the home of the heart.

In conjunction with this exhibition, I will release a photo book entitled Òran Na Gaoithe: Songs of the Wind.

Online view of her video work (No audio)

Kato Shu Profile

Photographer
Museum Studies, Tokyo Gakugei University
ELP, University of Stirling, Scotland
Member of the Royal Photographic Society

A traveling photographer who takes photographs in Scotland, Ukraine, Okinawa and other places in Japan and abroad on the themes of landscapes, the lives and culture of the people living in those places, and on the subject of life. In addition to photography, she also writes and does a wide range of web and graphic design work. She loves Scotch whisky and has visited more than 110 distilleries in Scotland.