Cherry Blossom, Don’t Cry. 桜花笑春風
スペイン・エンポルダ出身の写真家Alba Yruela（アルバ・ユルエラ）の新作エディションをCYROで発表します。12月11日（木）から始まるTOKYO ART BOOK FAIR 2025で先行発売し、12月13日より当オンラインショップでもご購入いただけます。
We’re excited to present a new edition by Alba Yruela, a photographer from Empordà, Spain. It will be launched in advance at TOKYO ART BOOK FAIR 2025 starting Thursday, December 11, and will be available on our online shop from December 13.
Introduction
Rooted in a profound connection to nature, Alba Yruela has long created works that weave together intimacy and candor, photographing friends, lovers, everyday landscapes, and at times, self-portraits tinged with solitude. Her images hold a delicacy that coexists with an unhesitating directness, capturing moments as they are.
Cherry Blossom, Don’t Cry. 桜花笑春風 is a special edition based on a series produced during Yruela’s stay in Japan in 2023, where she encountered the quiet signs of renewal emerging from a period of feeling lost. At the time, She felt she wasn’t enjoying life enough, and she was deeply sad. It was in the midst of this deep sadness that she happened upon the gently blooming cherry blossoms.
She describes that moment in her own words:
“…And then the flowers came. I believe they helped me. Cherry blossoms, with their quiet beauty, reminded me to do my thing again. Bloom, too.”
The phrase accompanying this edition, “桜花笑春風 (Ōka shunpū ni emu)”, originates from a line in the Tang dynasty poet Cui Hu’s celebrated poem Renmian Taohua: “桃花笑春風 (Tōka shunpū ni emu)”.
Its meanings—that even as the human world changes, flowers bloom as they always have, and that spring will inevitably arrive, no matter how difficult the circumstances—resonate deeply with the spirit of Yruela’s Cherry Blossom, Don’t Cry.
Borrowing this sentiment and replacing “peach blossom” with “cherry blossom,” a symbol of spring in Japan, the new expression “桜花笑春風” was born.
This Special Edition comprises eight photographs—four in color and four in black and white—personally selected by Yruela from Cherry Blossom, Don’t Cry.
Produced as digital (archival) pigment prints, the works render the depth of light, air, and texture with exceptional nuance.
A distinctive feature of this edition is its use of the traditional Japanese display format, the kakejiku (hanging scroll). Crafted in soft pink tones, the specially designed scrolls depart from conventional formats by allowing viewers to switch the prints themselves, transforming the act of viewing into a tactile, participatory experience.
Amid the shifting seasons, the quietly blooming cherry blossoms offered a small glimmer of light in the wake of darkness.
Cherry Blossom, Don’t Cry.桜花笑春風 emerges from that moment—an expression born from the artist’s inner landscape.
It is an edition that sits gently alongside the viewer’s own time.
Alba Yruela
Artist Profile
Alba Yruela (b. 1989, Spain) grew up in Empordà, where she cultivated a deep affection for nature. She photographs the landscapes and people around her with an intimate and delicate approach, yet direct point of view. Her practice spans various media, including portraiture, still life, fashion, and video.
She has exhibited her work in cities such as Paris, Los Angeles, London, and Barcelona, and has published more than a dozen photobooks. Among them, her major work Diaris 2009–2019 has been highly praised as a beautiful and contemplative record that tenderly captures her inner world. Composed of over 500 photographs taken across a decade, the book weaves together personal recollection with an exploration of form, color, and light.
In her latest publication, Cherry Blossom, Don’t Cry (2025), Yruela reflects on an emotional shift experienced during her stay in Japan, portraying the transition from feeling lost to experiencing renewal through her characteristic gaze toward nature. An emotive interplay between the external world and her inner sensibility, captured through the full bloom of cherry blossoms.
Set of 8 prints -Digital pigment print-
Original Kakejiku
Specifications: Set of 8 prints with original kakejiku, including a certificate of authenticity
Print details: Digital pigment print, 210 × 148 mm
Kakejiku details: Kakejiku, 1600 × 268 mm
Year of production: 2025
Edition: 12 + AP2, PP1
Due to the natural characteristics of the washi paper used, Kakejiku may occasionally contain small fibers or black specks. Thank you for your understanding.