Emi ANRAKUJI
安楽寺えみ
Emi Anrakuji was born in Tokyo, Japan. She studied oil painting at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. Soon after her graduation, she was diagnosed with a cerebral tumor which caused a severe degradation of her eyesight. The illness forced her to abandon her aspiration to become a professional painter. In the course of a decade-long recovery, one day she discovered that a camera can be a replacement of her eyes then began teaching herself photography at her hospital bed. Anrakuji's obsession with the human body is a result, in part, from her long periods spent hospitalized.
In her art, Anrakuji is an alchemist of images and a catalyst for daydreams and desires.
She is the author of critically acclaimed monographs, including her most iconic work IPY and MISHO which was selected as one of the finalists under the independent category of Lucie Photo Book Prize in 2018. Anrakuji's work continues to be exhibited and collected worldwide.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2018 - Emi Anrakuji Just Love, Miyako Yoshinaga, New York, USA
2018 - Emi Anrakuji 1800 Milimètre, Gallery Past Rays, Yokohama, Japan
2017 - 1800 millimeters is the size of my bed, Galeria Blanca Soto Arte, Madrid, Spain
2015 - Emi Anrakuji 1800 Milimètre, Miyako Yoshinaga, New York, USA
2015 - EMI ANRAKUJI, in camera, Paris, France
2013 - O MAPA, Gallery Past Rays, Yokohama, Japan
2013 - O MAPA, Miyako Yoshinaga, New York, USA
2012 - A Decent Life, Gallery Past Rays, Yokohama, Japan
2011 - A Decent Life, Miyako Yoshinaga, New York, USA
2010 - CHASM - Sakeme, Gallery Past Rays, Yokohama, Japan
2009 - CHASM - Sakeme, Miyako Yoshinaga, New York, USA
2008 - IPY, Charles A. Hartman Fine Art, Oregon, USA
2008 - Snail Diary, Rat Hole Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2007 - Mental Map, MU PROJECT, Washington DC, USA
2006 - E・A・S・E, Miyako Yoshinaga, New York, USA
2005 - HMMT?, Gallery Past Rays, Yokohama, Japan
2005 - HMMT?, BankART, Yokohama, Japan
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 - Nikon Plaza Tokyo, The Gallery, Photo City Sagamihara Prize Winner, exhibition,, Tokyo, Japan
2019 - UNSEEN AMSTERDAM, Miyako Yoshinaga, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2019 - 20th Anniversary Show:Part I (Photography), Miyako Yoshinaga, New York, USA
2019 - Japanese Nudes, Japan Museum SieboldHuis, Leiden, The Netherlands
2018 - How many miles to Babylon?, Miyako Yoshinaga, New York, USA
2018 - Orient Expres, Encuentros Fotograficos Gijon, Gion, Spain
2018 - Orient Expres, Centro Internacional de Fotografía y Cine, Madrid, Spain
2017 - PARIS PHOTO, Miyako Yoshinaga, Paris, France
2017 - i am an ‘object’, Zen Photo gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2017 - Emi Anrakuji 1800 Milimètre, Galeria Blanca at PHotoESPAÑA, Madrid, Spain
2016 - Aqui y ahora, Galeria Blanca Soto Arte, Madrid, Spain
2016 - Shikijo - eroticism in Japanese photography, Blindspot gallery, Hong Kong, China
2016 - Takara Bune, in between gallery, Paris, France
2014 - INTIMITÉ, in camera, Paris, France
2014 - PARIS PHOTO, in camera, Paris, France
Awards
2006 - The 22nd Higashikawa new photographer award, Japan
2006 - A Chairman's Prize, the Japan Alliance of Printing Industry, the 57th All Japan Calendar Competition, Japan
2003 - International Photography Awards, 1st Place, the Fine Art Abstract Category and Fine Art Photographer of the Year, USA
2003 - Excellence Awards, Visual Category, Little More, Japan
2003 - Grand Prize, Albion Art Museum Photography Award, Japan
2002 - Humming Bird Awards, Hirama Itaru Photographic Awards, Japan
2002 - Excellence Award, Niigata Tomioka White Musem, Japan
2001 - Excellence Award, London Photographic Awards, United Kingdom
