Exhibition/event has ended.
[Image: Emi Otaguro, "untitled", (2017), marker pen on paper, 21 x 29.7cm]

Emi Otaguro “Spot”

KayokoYuki
Finished

Artists

Emi Otaguro
Titled “spot,” the current exhibition by Emi Otaguro consists of a series of works at the core of which sits a story woven by the artist herself, inspired by Greek mythology’s tale of “Narcissus.” In her story, a hunter finds himself in the pool formed by his own urine, starting to feel unsure as to his bodily existence. Trying to get a confirmation of his being, he gazes into the pool of urine, only to face various haunting images such as those of cats, horses, and ravens, emerging from there; this situation is the point of departure for her works in the show. Here, the urine, in the form of a pool, symbolizes the boundary between the inside and outside of a living body, and the image inside of it that resembles oneself serves as what shakes one’s self perception of their bodily existence. To sweep away that feeling of insecurity, and prompted by a bit of curiosity, the hunter approximates to his other self dwelling in the urine pool. However, what is revealed to him there, is not his own, true self, which he was pursuing, but images deriving from fragments of his memory. They seem rather like a proof of his being in the world.

Throughout her artistic practice, Otaguro has consistently worked under the themes of inexplicable events slipping into everyday life as well as states of human psyche when oscillating between sanity and insanity. Her new works featured in this exhibition present more direct expressions, as a result of employing more restrained methods and materials. “To draw and paint a picture is the act of staining memory,” says the artist; she gives a mark to a piece of memory by cutting out a fleeting moment from the eternally flowing time and then filling it with a black marker. By devoting herself continually to the primitive and physical act of “drawing and painting a picture,” Otaguro confronts uncertainty of bodily existence and ambiguity of self-recognition. That is the way she works, and the new pieces in this exhibition show us her latest development.

Schedule

Oct 28 (Sat) 2017-Nov 26 (Sun) 2017 

Opening Hours Information

Hours
12:00-19:00
Sundays closing at 17:00
Closed
Monday, Tuesday, Holidays

Opening Reception Oct 28 (Sat) 2017 18:00 - 20:00

FeeFree
Websitehttp://www.kayokoyuki.com/en/171028.php
VenueKayokoYuki
http://www.kayokoyuki.com/
Location2-14-2 Komagome, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 173-0003
Access2 minute walk from the East exit of Komagome Station on the JR Yamanote line, 2 minute walk from exit 4 at Komagome Station on the Namboku line.
Phone03-6873-6306
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