Chisato Nagai - Hanbe Gardens

This month's group photography show at Ça décoiffe, the barber shop on Papineau Avenue, is inspired by Daniel Rondeau's text Plastique. The short piece tells of a young Japanese woman who's studying in Montreal. She deals with her loneliness by photographing herself around the city and posting the pictures on her blog to give an impression of busy activity.

My contribution to the show is Chisato Nagai, a photograph I took of a friend in Hiroshima, Japan in 2005. Chisato lived in Montreal in 2001-2002 and was happy with her work and a close circle of friends. When I visited her in her hometown of Hiroshima a few years later, she and I spent an afternoon with her grandmother at Hanbe Gardens, the intimate botanical garden in the heart of the city where this picture was taken. Chisato and I first met in the mid-1980s when I was teaching English in Hiroshima. Her mother Miho Nagai was one of my students.

Chisato Nagai will be on display at Ça décoiffe until November 30, 2009. Ça décoiffe is located at 4526 Papineau Avenue (map) next to La Tulipe. Feel free to drop in to view Chisato Nagai and the photographs of the other participants in the show.

The barber shop is open Thursday (9:00-6:00), Friday (12:00-8:00), Saturday (9:00-4:00), Sunday (10:00-5:00) and Monday (9:00-6:00).

You're welcome to attend the opening of the next show at Ça décoiffe. The opening will be on December 2, 2009 at 9:00 PM ... the night of the full moon!