George Nobechi

Unmoored

November 1, 2018 - January 3, 2018

Three years ago, I departed New York City on what eventually became a 990-day personal odyssey, leaving behind broken relationships, my career, home and all my possessions except for my camera and what I could carry on my back; I became “unmoored.” I did so because it was the first time since my father abruptly passed away when I was nineteen that I had the time and space to take stock of my life and dig deeper into my recollections.

As I journeyed, I made photographs where I felt the presence of everyday humanity and the stillness of natural tranquility. To contextualize my settings I recalled my upbringing in the organized chaos that is Tokyo. From my high rise bedroom window as a child I spent hours upon hours gazing out at the sprawling city below and found a calmness that was elusive whenever I ventured out of the sanctuary of my room.

I turned once again to windows and looking out from within, where the faintly warm presence of someone who was there but now departed--a concept known in Japan as nukumori—could be felt.

I make photographs in the places where I find these elements--nothing in this series is staged—to capture a still moment in time that recalls something from our past, like a distant, but familiar bell tolling for us to come back and find life here again in the stillness.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: George Nobechi is a Tokyo-born, Japanese/Canadian photographer who graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in History/International Relations. When he was 19 his father suddenly passed away, and he left Vancouver upon graduation and began a career in the business world in Tokyo and New York to support his family. In 2015, he left his business career and studied photography under former National Geographic photographer Sam Abell. Under Abell's mentorship, he interned at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and established their first Japan expeditions. Since then he has continued to journey freely while making new work. Award and exhibition highlights include a 2017 Critical Mass Top 50 Award, Winner of the Best Landscape category in PDN’s “The Curator,” and two Silver Awards in PX3 for Fine Art and Monograph categories. George has taught photography at the American School in Japan (ASIJ), the British School in Tokyo, Hastings College in Nebraska, and for the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and he currently produces exhibitions, community talks and workshops in Japan under the brand Nobechi Creative. https://www.georgenobechi.com/cv https://www.nobechicreative.com/