FOSTERING EXCHANGE AND DIALOGUE
The organisers are delighted to announce the launch of the TM4.0 Evolution a new phase of the Two Mountains Photography Project.
Malaysia and Japan have built a precious friendship for over many years. In 2013, the Two Mountains Photography Project was started to deepen this mutual understanding through the power of photography and culture. Centred on the commissioning of 6 documentary and art photographers to present photo-stories of these peaks in their home nations, the project culminated in an exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, and a presentation in Japan and was successfully received in 2014.
In 2017, we announced the second phase of the Two Mountains Photography Project, continuing our original vision by recognising cross-cultural processes, via photography. This second phase enabled selected photographers from each nation to travel to the other, and make their personal visual stories centred on the respective peaks. The indigenous people of each nation respect these peaks as cultural icons and spiritual symbols by recognition of their unique status, with long traditions and practices embedded in the national psyche.
Through the efforts of research combined with the artists’ personal photographic styles and backgrounds, the Two Mountains Photo Project will enable the realisation of projects with new visions and stories.
It is with great excitement that we open the Two Mountains 4.0 public exhibition in the city of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, home to one of the iconic peaks in Asia.
CO-CURATORS
NAOKO OHTA / KLEE INC TOKYO PARIS
Commissioner / Founder and Chief Curator of TOKYO-GA project
Commissioner / WONDER project
Naoko OHTA is president and CEO of Klee, Inc., which provides a wide range of art-related services, including the production of international exhibitions, artist representation, editorial direction, publication of books and photography collection. She also serves as nominator to PRIX PICTET Awards and the Leica Oskar Barnack Awards (LOBA) and jury for The Photographic Society of Japan Award.
STEVEN LEE Steven has been involved in photography advocacy and education for over 15 years. He actively participates in international photography events as jury, portfolio reviewer, mentor and workshop leads. He acted as nominator for the World Press Photo 6X6 Global Talent Program and Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA). Steven is also a photographer who began his career in fashion and portraiture, as well as travel documentary work in the early 2000s, and has self-published several books. He is the founder director of Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards and co-founder of Exposure Plus Photo festival.
MEMUPUK PERTUKARAN DAN DIALOG
(Malay Languages)
Para penyelaras sukacita mengumumkan pelancaran TM4.0 Evolution, sebuah fasa baharu bagi program Two Mountains Photography Project.
Malaysia dan Jepun telah membina sebuah persahabatan yang erat selama bertahun-tahun. Pada tahun 2013, Two Mountains Photography Project ini dimulakan untuk lebih mendalamkan persefahaman sesama melalui kuasa fotografi dan budaya. Bertumpukan penugasan komisen 6 orang jurugambar dokumentari dan seni untuk mempersembahkan cerita bergambar (photo-stories) puncak-puncak gunung ini di tanah air mereka, projek ini mencapai kemuncaknya dengan sebuah pameran di Kuala Lumpur serta pembentangan di Jepun dan berjaya menerima sambutan yang baik pada tahun 2024.
Pada tahun 2017, kami mengumumkan fasa kedua The Two Mountains Photography Project, meneruskan visi asal kami dengan pengiktirafan proses silang budaya, melalui seni fotografi. Fasa kedua ini telah membolehkan jurugambar terpilih dari setiap negara untuk mengembara ke negara lain, dan menumpukan penceritaan visual peribadi mereka pada puncak-puncak gunung tersebut. Orang asli di setiap negara menghormati puncak-puncak ini sebagai ikon budaya dan simbol spiritual dengan mengiktiraf status uniknya, selaras dengan tradisi serta amalan yang telah lama berakar dalam jiwa bangsa.
Melalui usaha penyelidikan yang digabungkan dengan gaya fotografi serta latar belakang peribadi para seniman, Two Mountains Photography Project akan memungkinkan pelaksanaan projek dengan visi dan kisah baharu.
Dengan penuh sukacitanya kami ingin melancarkan pameran Two Mountains 4.0 di Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, tempat bagi salah satu puncak ikonik di Asia.
KENTARO KUMON
Kentaro Kumon (lahir 1981) ialah seorang jurugambar yang karyanya telah dipaparkan secara meluas dalam majalah, buku, dan iklan, dengan fokus pada fotografi laporan dan potret. Selain itu, beliau turut menghasilkan karya yang meneroka titik pertemuan antara manusia dan alam semula jadi, seperti Cultivators, yang menggambarkan kehidupan harian petani di seluruh Jepun; Koyomigawa River, yang meneliti hubungan antara sungai dan masyarakat; serta Topography of Light, di mana beliau mengembara ke semenanjung Jepun untuk menemui serta merakam iklim dan gaya hidup kuno negara itu.
Karya terbarunya, Sleeping Island, diterbitkan oleh Kehrer, Jerman, dan merupakan koleksi fotografi yang mendokumentasikan sebuah pulau kecil di Laut Pedalaman Seto yang mengalami penyusutan populasi.
Pada tahun 2012, karyanya Goma no Yohinten memenangi Anugerah Pendatang Baru daripada Photographic Society of Japan. Pada tahun 2023, beliau menerima Anugerah Pencapaian Sepanjang Hayat daripada organisasi yang sama.
Kentaro Kumon’s (b.1981) works has been featured extensively in magazines, books, and advertisements, focusing on reportage and portraiture. In parallel with this, he has been creating works on the theme of the contact points between people and nature, such as Cultivators, which depicts the daily lives of people in agriculture throughout Japan, Koyomigawa River which examines the connection between rivers and people; and Topography of Light in which he travels the peninsula, discovering and photographing the ancient climate and lifestyles of Japan.
His latest work is Sleeping Island, a collection of photographs published by Kehrer, Germany about a depopulating small island in the Seto Inland Sea.
In 2012 Goma no Yohinten won the Newcomer’s Award of the Photographic Society of Japan. In 2023 he won the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Photographic Society of Japan.
ATSUSHI OKUYAMA
Atsushi Okuyama memperoleh kemahiran asas fotografi ketika bekerja di sebuah syarikat penerbitan selepas menamatkan pengajian di kolej. Beliau kemudian berpindah dari Tokyo ke kawasan luar bandar di timur laut Jepun, di mana beliau memulakan kerjayanya sebagai jurugambar.
Beliau mempunyai minat yang mendalam terhadap kehidupan manusia, budaya, dan sejarah, serta berusaha untuk menemui sisi spiritual manusia melalui elemen-elemen tersebut. Meskipun bukan sesuatu yang mudah untuk menzahirkan dunia spiritual dalam fotografi, beliau cuba melakukannya dengan meluangkan masa bersama subjeknya.
Walaupun projek fotografi beliau berunsurkan dokumentari, ia tidak tertumpu kepada isu sosial yang besar. Sebaliknya, beliau meneliti dunia individu dengan lebih mendalam dalam usaha menyampaikan mesej universal mengenai kemanusiaan.
Atsushi Okuyama acquired his basic photographic skills at a publishing company where he worked after graduating from college. He then moved from Tokyo to the countryside in northeastern Japan, where he began his career as a photographer.
He is deeply interested in human life, culture, and history, and tries to discover the spirituality of human beings through them. It is not easy to express the spiritual world through photography, but he tries to make it possible by spending time with his subjects.
Although his photographic projects are documentary in scope, they do not focus on major social issues, but rather look deeply into the world of the individual in an attempt to portray a universal message about humanity.
YUKI MORITA
Yuki Morita ialah seorang jurugambar muda yang berjiwa cekal, yang pada suatu hari terdorong oleh naluri haiwannya untuk menelusuri dunia “gunung”.
Pada tahun 2017, beliau menerbitkan koleksi fotografi bertajuk “OBLIQUE LINES” melalui L’ARTIERE, sebuah penerbit dari Itali. Dalam koleksi ini, beliau menggambarkan dengan pendekatan yang radikal sempadan tipis antara mimpi dan realiti dalam kehidupan manusia, seperti yang dilihat melalui mata abangnya yang menghidap skizofrenia.
Beliau juga mempunyai banyak pencapaian cemerlang dan telah memenangi pelbagai pertandingan fotografi. Namun, kini beliau memilih untuk menjalani kehidupan yang jauh daripada wang dan kemasyhuran kerana pencariannya yang mendalam terhadap kebenaran.
Yuki Morita is a spirited young photographer who one day set his mind on the “mountains” by his animalistic intuition.
In 2017, he put out a photo collection titled “OBLIQUE LINES” by L’ARTIERE, an Italian publisher. In this collection he depicts, with a radical touch, the narrow boundary between dream and reality in human life, portrayed through the eyes of his brother who has schizophrenia.
He also has many notable achievements, winning various photo competitions. However, he now chooses to live his life far away from money and fame because of his earnest search for truth.
FLANEGAN BAINON
Flanegan Bainon is a photographer with a multicultural background, and specialises in documentary and conceptual portrait photography. Influenced by contemporary Japanese photography and music album covers, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Photography from RMIT University, Melbourne.
After working as a photojournalist in Kota Kinabalu, he honed his skills in Tokyo under the guidance of notable Japanese photographers. Returning to Kota Kinabalu in 2020, Flanegan now focuses on producing captivating photo series, including the acclaimed Nunuk Ragang and Gayo Ngaran Series, blending cultural heritage with modern influences in his distinctive style
STACY LIU
Stacy Liu is a photographer based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She graduated with a BA (Hons) in Communications and a minor in Art & Design from Richmond, the American International University in London (2008).
Her photographic interests continue to evolve over time. At present, Stacy is drawn towards capturing landscapes, nature and the quiet moments observed in daily life. Her interest also lies in self-exploration through photography.
Besides her own photographic practice, Stacy is active in supporting the local photography community through her work at Zontiga, a creative hub for photography enthusiasts based in Petaling Jaya. She was also part of the Exposure+ Photo team in 2020 – 2022.
NADIRAH ZAKARIYA
Born and raised in Malaysia, Nadirah Zakariya draws inspiration for her works through her non-specific geographic upbringing, focusing on the emotional impact and how it shapes who she is. Currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Nadirah received her Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC.
In 2011 Nadirah was invited to hold her first solo exhibition “Daughters Ago” in New York. She later exhibited “GIRLHOOD”, another solo show, in 2016 at the Leica Gallery Kuala Lumpur. In 2018, her series “Fuji-san Love Letters” was showcased at Ilham Gallery.
Her latest and biggest solo exhibition is Feeling Feelings Makes Me, Me which took place at temu house in May 2023 showcased nearly 40 of her photography works.
NADIRAH ZAKARIYA
Nadirah is an internationally published photographer with works in publications such as The New York Times Magazine, VICE, Dazed and Confused, Refinery29 and Vogue Italia. In 2022, her artwork was published in Thames and Hudson’s Flora Photographica : The Flower in Contemporary Photography by William A. Ewing and Danaé Panchaud. The book is described as “Vivid, bold, spectacular and unexpected: a definitive overview of one of contemporary photography’s most innovative fields, showcasing flower imagery by more than 120 of the world’s leading practitioners.”. With a passion in photography and film making, she is the co-founder of Layar Lucida, a women-led creative studio and also the co-founder of Exposure+ Photo in Kuala Lumpur.