Moré Moré Tokyo (Leaky Tokyo)
GALLERY HOURS | Tue.–Sat. 11:00–19:00 (Sat. 13:00–14:00 CLOSED)
CLOSED | Sun-Mon., National Holidays
*The gallery will be closed from November 29 to December 10 due to the building maintenance.
*Depending on COVID-19, the exhibition period and the content may be changed.
Akio Nagasawa Gallery Ginza is pleased to announce the opening of Yuko Mohri's solo exhibition Moré Moré Tokyo (Leaky Tokyo).
B. 1980 in Kanagawa, Japan. Lives and works in Tokyo.
Yuko Mohri is an artist. She approaches installation and sculpture not to compose (or construct) but to focus on “phenomena” that constantly shift according to various conditions such as their environment. In recent years, she has also explored this idea through video and photography.
In this exhibition, Mohri will present works from her "Moré Moré Tokyo" series, which she has been taking photographs of since 2009. This series was exhibited at the "23rd Biennale of Sydney: rīvus" this year and was well received, and is scheduled to tour to the Art Museum in Adelaide in 2023. In conjunction with the exhibition, a photography book titled "Moré Moré Tokyo (Leaky Tokyo)" will be published by Akio Nagasawa Publishing.
Leaky Stations and Unexpected Everyday Beauty in Tokyo
by Lena Fritsch, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
University of Oxford
Reversed umbrellas, tubes, plastic sheets, bags, water bottles and buckets – various everyday objects are creatively combined, patched and fixed with duct tape on the ceilings, walls and floors of Tokyo train and underground stations. Since 2009, multimedia artist Yuko Mohri (b. 1980) has photographed the provisional and often imaginative DIY constructions made by station staff to stop water leaking onto commuters’ heads.
The constructions range from sand bags on the floor, surrounded by warning signs and traffic safety cones, to highly elaborate installations on the ceilings. Mohri has described the beginning of her photographic project: ‘Around ten years ago, when I had no money but a lot of time, I would buy a daily travel pass for the JR trains or the subway and travel to areas in Tokyo that
I had never been to before. Strolling and wandering around, I observed the locations of water leaks at stations. The methods and different objects used to stop the leaks varied depending on the stations or train lines. To me they looked like different approaches to sculpting – they were treasure houses of inspiration’. ＊
(...) Titled ‘moré moré’ (an onomatopoeic expression that vividly describes something leaking), Mohri’s photographs of small temporary architecture not only speak of inventive human engagement with contemporary urban challenges but they also convey a feeling of humour in
the face of risk. The photographs present a unique sense of everyday ‘beauty’, joy and wit that can only be found in Tokyo.
＊Yuko Mohri in an email to Lena Fritsch, 16 September 2019. Translated from the Japanese by the author.
– from the afterword of Moré Moré Tokyo (Leaky Tokyo) (a part)
Artist
Yuko MOHRI
毛利悠子
B. 1980 in Kanagawa, Japan. Lives and works in Tokyo.
Yuko Mohri’s art seeks to make invisible energy such as electricity, magnetism, and motion visible. To this aim, she approaches installation and sculpture not to compose (or construct) but to call attention to “phenomena” that constantly shift according to various conditions such as the environment. In recent years, she has also explored this idea through video and photography.
Recent personal exhibitions include “I/O (In Oslo)” (Atelier Nord, Oslo, 2021), “Parade (a Drip, a Drop, the End of the Tale)” (Japan House São Paulo, São Paulo, 2021), “SP. by yuko mohri” (Ginza Sony Park, Tokyo, 2020), “Voluta” (Camden Arts Centre, London, 2018), and “Assume That There Is Friction and Resistance” (Towada Art Center, Aomori, 2018). She has also participated in numerous international group exhibitions including “23rd Biennale of Sydney: rīvus” (Sydney, 2022), “2021 Asian Art Biennial: Phantasmapolis” (National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, 2021), “34th Bienal de São Paulo: Though It’s Dark, Still I Sing” (Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, São Paulo, 2021), “Glasgow international 2021: Attention” (The Pyramid at Anderston, Glasgow, 2021), “The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art” (Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2018), and “14th Biennale de Lyon” (Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, 2017).
In 2015, Mohri received a grant from the Asian Cultural Council for a 6-month residency in New York. In the same year, she received Grand Prix, Nissan Art Award. In 2016, Mohri has undertaken a residency with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and had in residence at Camden Arts Centre, London. In 2018, Mohri, as East Asian Cultural Exchange Envoy, visited 4 cities in China.Lauréats 2020: Cité internationale des arts, Institut français.
（Photo by KENSHU SHINTSUBO）
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