Geography of Memory: debut exhibitions by Coco Mori and Soshi Hiramatsu
A little while ago, in a quaint and intimate setting, I visited the debut exhibition of a young couple, curated by Yiwa Lau. The artists, documentary maker Coco Mori and graphic designer Soshi Hiramatsu, have recently turned their attention to photography, exploring new forms of storytelling through their lenses.
Image courtesy of Coco Mori
Hiramatsu’s Bond With is a series of photographs taken around London describing how one can connect to their surroundings, how scenes and events unimportant to some means the world to others, how spots overlooked by some can be a haven to others, what a hug and embrace can mean, what a shadow can define! Hiramatsu wants to show the bond that city inhabitants, London inhabitants, have with where they live. He makes the viewer stop, makes them think twice about the overlooked daily activities.
Mori’s Uncertain Blue is extremely moving. A series of photographs and video footage tells the story of a tiny village, Lujiaying, 4.9 miles away from Beijing, its people and how they will all soon be completely forgotten. She explains the compelling sad truth that goes on at a rapid rate in China which is urbanisation, the destruction of small communities in the shadows of bigger cities. This sadly does not take into consideration the lives of the people living in these spaces they call home. This small community, its past, present and future is to be bulldozed and erased forever. Mori is photographing history in the making. Walking through her photos gives us a sense of what that village feels like, the soul it has. What we see today in her all important archival photographs will no longer be there tomorrow. She has preserved a present that has quickly been destroyed, she has preserved history.
Image courtesy of Yiwa Lau
Lau’s curation was well thought out, resulting in a successful side-by-side exhibition. Each section of the room was divided meaningfully without the differences feeling jarring. This careful positioning connected the two exhibitions, enhancing what was already clear: the artists’ love for photography, their emotional attachment, and their empathy.
Image courtesy of Coco Mori
In the Uncertain Blue section, the images suspended on fishwire were an inspired choice. Lau’s intuitive approach created an ethereal, gently shifting atmosphere that mirrored Lujiaying’s own fragile, fleeting history. This setup also encouraged viewers to move behind the veiled images to discover a ‘hidden’ section, a glimpse into the stark reality of China’s housing crisis. The addition of video footage alongside the archival photographs was an intimate touch, allowing the audience to be fully immersed in China while still standing in the UK.
Image courtesy of Massoumeh Safinia
As for Bond With, Lau chose to have a collage of photographs all meticulously placed in a spider web fashion on one wall, and on the other, she had put far fewer but framed photographs. This clearly aimed to reflect the artist’s hope that his work “may offer a gentle reminder of the invisible ties that quietly bind us all.”
Image courtesy of Yiwa Lau
Bond With and Uncertain Blue were poignant and moving exhibitions, a strong debut for both Hiramatsu and Mori. I hope their devotion, sensibility, sensitivity, love and passion for what they do will take them much further in their endeavours and hope they will soon be seen and recognised by a much larger audience.
Bond With by Hiramatsu and Uncertain Blue by Mori was curated by Lau and held at Photo Book Café in the City of London 4-5 August 2025.
Words by Massoumeh Safinia
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