Uetsugu Kotomi 上続ことみ

Uetsugu Kotomi is a graduate student and artist based in Wakayama, Japan. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Photography at Osaka University of Arts. Working primarily with photography, her practice examines visual perception by focusing on blind spots and the mechanisms of visual completion. Rather than relying on narrative or personal memory, her work removes markers of nationality and storytelling, treating vision as a structural system. Through carefully composed photographs of ordinary and ambiguous scenes, she explores how images are constructed from what is overlooked, unseen, or cognitively filled in by the viewer. Her work investigates the conditions under which “seeing” begins, questioning how visibility is formed beyond what is directly presented.

“Seeing is not a purely optical act but a process involving perception, interpretation, and cognitive completion. While vision begins as a physical interaction between light and the eye, what we recognise as “seeing” is shaped by unconscious filtering, prior experience, and expectation. Based on this understanding, my photographic practice focuses on ordinary and overlooked scenes that resist clear description or narrative. Rather than presenting subjects that demand attention, I photograph environments easily passed by in daily life. By removing explicit meaning and storytelling, my work invites viewers to become aware of how their own perception fills in what is missing, revealing the mechanisms through which images are understood rather than merely seen.” (Instagram)