Akira Ohtsubo is an artist who creates photographic and video works on the subject of the relationship between memory and documentation. Using cyanotype, a classical photographic technique, she attempts to visualise the ambiguous and fluid images in our memories by photographing water scenes such as seas and waterfalls with a large format camera and video, and by incorporating found photographs related to 'water' collected at flea markets as materials.
In the production process, the artist visually expresses the fluctuations of time and memory by layering irregular grid lines and adopting techniques such as plate shifting and multiple exposures. These techniques originate from the primitive processes of photographic expression, such as the grids drawn on the camera's focusing glass and the exposure process in the darkroom.
When we trace our memories, fragmented images are mixed with other memories, and lost parts are complemented by new experiences. Otsubo quietly scoops up such reconstructed memories and presents them from a distance, as if looking into the distance. It is also an attempt to depict the strata of memory that continue to flow, where the past and present intersect.
Overview of the exhibition
Title: Akira Otsubo solo exhibition ‘In the stream’
Date: 24 May (Sat) - 22 June (Sun), 2025
Closed: Open throughout the exhibition period
Opening hours: 11:00 - 17:00 (entry by 16:30)
Admission: free
Venue: ART FACTORY Jonanjima 4F multipurpose hall (2-4-10 Jonanjima, Ota-ku, Tokyo)
Buses are becoming less frequent. Please check the timetable in advance.
