I FOUND YOU traveled to Munich as a part of the international exhbition hosted by UAMO this past Oct.
EHEMALIGE TOGALWERKE
Ismaningerstr. 105
81675 München
Artist statement by Mayuko Fujino - I Found You (by Found Gallery)
Statement:
My name is Mayuko Fujino. I am from Japan but currently living in New York City. I make papercuts. I am interested in borderlines, conflicts, and the duallty of nature so those elements are always present in my artwork. With this project “I FOUND YOU”, I tried to explore the borderline between private and public. In other words, I wanted to think about being private when technology lets us reveal more and more about ourselves these days. I started taking pictures of people I saw. The photos are taken with a cell phone, just like many of the pictures on social networks. Then I made papercuts to cover the people’s faces. As a result, these portraits tell almost nothing about the people photographed, even though they do somehow come through since the designs are created based on each individual.
There are two levels of sharing that exist at the same time in the portraits. The memories associated with them, such as the subjects’ facial expressions, the places we were at, and the interactions with the people, are hidden below the papercut and shared only with the subjects and myself. What is shared in public is the top layer which “masks” the subjects. The viewer can barely see that there are humans behind those masks.
Our personal lives are not commercial products that need to be promoted, even though they are often treated that way especially on the internet. We don’t need any public approval or acclaim to think of our own memories as special. At the same time, it is also true that sharing our personal feelings could help us understand each other better. So I tried to let the “masks” filter an essence of my private moments and share it in public. The essence is a feeling of cherishing memories and life, which I believe is universal.
I FOUND YOU:
NEW WORKS BY MAYUKO FUJINO + JONNY COLEMAN
JULY 26- 31 \ RECEPTION THURS JULY 28 // 6:30-10
Bleicher Gallery \ 355 N La Brea Ave, LA CA 90036 // caporalebleicher.com
The exhibition will refresh itself and travel to Munich in the fall as a part of the international exhbition hosted by UAMO (http://uamo.info/).
papercut 4” × 6”
press release
http://cohac.qee.jp/i-found-you-release.pdf
