Conceptual nominee

The Czech Republic born artist Ivan Král asked me to photograph with his treasure art piece by Frantisek Drtikol "Sincere" before his death on February 2nd, 2020. He asked me to capture the magical, intimate, connection to "her" and I visualized the quiet relationship.

Born and raised in Japan, Toko Shiiki spent most of her life in Tokyo before moving to Michigan in 2005. Toko’s pursuit of using photography as a narrative medium inspired her to explore documentary filmmaking, where she delights in meeting fascinating people and sharing their stories with the world. She exhibits her work nationally and internationally and has earned multiple awards like The International Photography Awards.

• 2013 International Photography Awards – 1st place in People - Other category for the winning entry "Time Traveler"
• 2011 International Photography Awards – 1st place in People - Other category for the winning entry "In-between "Midlife"


• 2012 November - December "10 under 40" River Gallery Fine Art Juried Exhibition River Gallery Fine Art, Chelsea MI
• 2012 September "Huston Fine Art Fair" New Emerging Artist Juried Exhibition Reliant Center. Huston TX
•2011 August "Image as Metaphor" Juried Exhibition Riverside Arts Center 76 N. Huron Street, Ypsilanti MI
• 2008 May Juried Exhibition "The Art of Healing: Explorations of Women's Health" The Gallery at the Duderstadt Center, University of Michigan