The care and devotion that is evoked in Michael Kenna’s photographs of Japan is a love story in itself. Nestled at the back of the ICP, Kenna’s photographs hang in a passageway leading to a back exit onto the bustling New York City streets, providing a calm oasis to pause and reflect. The silver gelatin prints immerse you further into an altogether vastly different and beautiful landscape. The works feel nostalgic, ghostly almost, tangible yet distant, almost as if being transported into a past time that has been untouched by the human hand. The photographs encompass a range of subjects, with the focus on landscapes of torii gates, mountains, trails, birds, and flora. 

The photographs are small yet intimate, lending themselves to close viewing, which I experienced as I closely observed the stark landscapes of Northern Hokkaido where Kenna spent a lot of time travelling and visiting. These photos reveal the subtleness and beauty of nature in all its forms, its utter simplicity which Kenna captures so well. Inspired by the Shinto philosophy of Japan where nature is respected through the worship of the Kami gods, Kenna has found beauty and artistry within the landscape where he elicits “serene stillness and a deep respect for the landscape.”

Born in Northern England and raised Irish Catholic, Kenna was drawn to the priesthood initially, but after a visit to Japan he became enamoured by the aesthetics and landscapes there. I was moved by Kenna’s deep commitment to faith in nature which was apparent through Kenna’s respect and care in his practice, using long exposures (sometimes even 10 hours long), observing the landscape in great detail, and a precision in simplicity. He simultaneously embraces uncertainty and the unknown, emphasizing that “doubt is central to faith.” Kenna’s practice captures beauty in its organic form, untouched and sacred, inviting us to pause and admire nature in its habitat with love and care. This love story reminds us of time, both past and present, of its stillness and its movement, and it inspires us to appreciate time’s movement in nature, prompting us to hold it by all of its imperfect edges, and to deeply care for it.