SHIKISAISHA is pleased to present lookback, the first solo exhibition by Naoki Shimoyama at our gallery.
In this exhibition, Shimoyama revisits ideas and memories that never came to fruition, reconstructing them through the lens of the present.The seven new works on view shine light on paths not taken and possibilities that were once left behind, proposing a new connection between past and present through a non-linear, leap-like approach to time.
Artist Statement｜Naoki Shimoyama
LOOK BACK is not about simply retracing the past.It is an act of retrieving unrealized ideas and forgotten paths, and reconstructing them from a present perspective.
By rebooting memories and concepts that never took form, I seek to create a new “now” from a “what if” point of view.This is not about following the flow of time, but about tracing the faint traces of lost possibilities—a creative action that reclaims what was once overlooked.
Rather than viewing time as a straight line divided into past, present, and future, I am interested in its layers as leaps of consciousness.To look back is not to stop or to dwell—it is to open a door to another present.
SHIKISAISHA is pleased to present lookback, the first solo exhibition by Naoki Shimoyama at our gallery.
In this exhibition, Shimoyama revisits ideas and memories that never came to fruition, reconstructing them through the lens of the present.The seven new works on view shine light on paths not taken and possibilities that were once left behind, proposing a new connection between past and present through a non-linear, leap-like approach to time.
Artist Statement｜Naoki Shimoyama
LOOK BACK is not about simply retracing the past.It is an act of retrieving unrealized ideas and forgotten paths, and reconstructing them from a present perspective.
By rebooting memories and concepts that never took form, I seek to create a new “now” from a “what if” point of view.This is not about following the flow of time, but about tracing the faint traces of lost possibilities—a creative action that reclaims what was once overlooked.
Rather than viewing time as a straight line divided into past, present, and future, I am interested in its layers as leaps of consciousness.To look back is not to stop or to dwell—it is to open a door to another present.
Naoki Shimoyama
Naoki Shimoyama
Born in Gunma in 1972.
Completed his MFA in sculpture at Tama Art University.
Working primarily in wood carving, he creates sculptures based on animal forms.
Defining his works as “self-portraits in sculpture,”
he projects his inner thoughts and emotions onto animal figures, developing a distinctive sculptural language.
With refined craftsmanship and a strong physical presence,
his works evoke an existential sense of being, reflecting a deep contemplation of human existence and society.
Naoki Shimoyama
Born in Gunma in 1972.
Completed his MFA in sculpture at Tama Art University.
Working primarily in wood carving, he creates sculptures based on animal forms.
Defining his works as “self-portraits in sculpture,”
he projects his inner thoughts and emotions onto animal figures, developing a distinctive sculptural language.
With refined craftsmanship and a strong physical presence,
his works evoke an existential sense of being, reflecting a deep contemplation of human existence and society.
