1839 Contemporary Gallery presents “INTIMATE DISTANCE / 青の距離” a reinterpretation of the classic 19th-century cyanotype process, opening on November 8, 2025.
Photographer Aki NORTON explores the mind-body relationship through classic cyanotype photography.
Norton’s work has been exhibited in galleries in Paris, the United States, and Tokyo. This new series utilizes 19th-century cyanotype printing. Through ethereal blue images, the exhibition explores the complex relationship between mind and body, transforming the human form into traces of perception and memory.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Photographer Aki NORTON specializes in portraiture, exploring the relationship between the human body and nature through the artistic expression of nude photography on film. Her work has been exhibited multiple times in galleries across Paris, the United States, and Tokyo. Currently, she is creating with the classical cyanotype printing technique, delving deep into the expressive possibilities between painting and photography, and the innovative artistic expressions that emerge from this intersection.
EXHIBITION CONCEPT
This exhibition explores the gap between mind and body and the potential for their reconnection through cyanotype imagery rendered in blue. The Prussian blue generated through photochemical reactions presents the body not merely as form, but as traces of sensation. This distinctive blue challenges the boundaries between self and other, proximity and distance, inviting viewers to reconsider their embodied experience.
EXHIBITION LAYOUT
Wall ①: Tranquility, Portraits Dissolving into Nature / Beginning・Genesis
Wall ②: Awakening and Inner Self / Exploration・Movement
Wall ③: Heart Sutra・Mind / Breathing・Stillness
Wall ④: Void・Silence・Beyond / Nothingness
About the Photographer: Aki NORTON
Aki Norton is an internationally recognized photographer specializing in the exploration of human form and its relationship with the natural world. Her work, which has graced galleries in Paris, the United States, and Tokyo, demonstrates a unique sensitivity to the intersection of classical photographic techniques and contemporary artistic expression.
1989: Born in Fukuoka Prefecture
2011: Took leave from university to study abroad in the UK
2012: Graduated from the College of Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
2015: Studied Asian Religious Sociology at the Philosophy Department, University of Wisconsin
2019: Aki+Cole Exhibition “Our Beauty” at Tokyo Kudan Yo Gallery
2019: “Anna Uchiyama” Exhibition at Galerie Rachel Hardouin, Paris
2019: Art Planning & Direction for “Iwakura Experience,” Tokyo Tourism Foundation Regional Resource Discovery Verification Program
2020: “New Horizons” Exhibition at Var Gallery West, Milwaukee
2021: Aki+Cole Exhibition “Bright and Exposed” at Tokyo Kudan Yo Gallery
2025: Completed Master of Arts at Kyoto University of the Arts Graduate School
Aki NORTON Photo Exhibition – Intimate Distance
Works on Display｜36 photographs
Exhibition Period｜Nov. 07-Nov. 23, 2025
Opening｜Art talk｜Sat. Nov. 08, 14:30 – 17:00
Curator｜Mika Kan, Kyoto University of the Arts, Associate Professor
Organizer: 1839 Contemporary Gallery (specializing in photographic art gallery). What’s 1839? It mean the invention of photography in 1839)
Gallery Director｜ Edward, I-Chien CHIU (phD)
Address: B1, No. 120, Yanji Street, Da’an District, Taipei City