In his debut photobook, “City Without Scenery”, Naoto Shimura extended the cinematic technique of the “bridge shot” into photographic expression, capturing subtle traces of sound and silence. In this latest body of work, he develops this approach further, reaching a more autonomous realm of photographic expression.
“Ubiquitous, familiar landscapes found across the world. The fragments we have let go of settle within them.”
The artist’s foundational stance—that the world is constructed from the ordinary, overlooked scenery of daily life—remains unchanged. Yet what is depicted here is a space where multiple locations belonging to different times—the town where Shimura grew up, the neighborhood of his student years, and the city where he resides today—emerge as if seamlessly merged within a dream.
“There is a place I often visit—a city where all processes converge. Descending the slope in front of my house and turning the corner of the residential area on the hill, I am sure to reach the station on the reclaimed land. By the time this subway passes the crossing of the schoolyard, another country must be expanding beyond the elevated tracks.”
The expanse of this city, where memories of past locations intersect with present senses, extends beyond the artist’s private realm. Connecting with the memories and experiences of others like neural pathways, it vividly awakens emotions hidden deep within us—much like a awakening.
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Author: Naoto Shimura
Editor: Daisuke Morishita
Design: Mami Takahashi
Translation: JEX Limted.
Size: 220×270mm
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 128 pages
Number of illustrations: 65 color photographs
First Edition: November 7, 2026
Price: ¥5,000 + tax
ISBN: 978-4-9914195-3-9