Kei Imazu: Tanah Air

Kei Imazu’s first large-scale solo exhibition presents the artist’s weaving of personal, historical, and mythological narratives, as an expansive reflection on Japan, where she has her roots, and her present situation in Indonesia.

Kei Imazu (b. 1980) uses computer applications to process and compose images taken from various media such as the internet and digital archives, producing oil paintings on canvas based on these initial sketches.

In 2017, Imazu moved to Bandung, Indonesia to live and work. In recent years, her works have shifted to represent her research into contemporary issues of urban development and environmental pollution in Indonesia, all of which capture the reality of the artist’s immediate surroundings. These issues are never directly expressed in Imazu’s works, but are rather woven and linked between a diverse range of archival images, juxtaposing multiple temporalities pertaining to Indonesian history, mythology, and ecosystems related to biological evolution and extinction, thereby extending her work in a more expansive direction. Imazu’s paintings, in which elements of global environmental issues, eco-feminism, mythology, history, and politics are juxtaposed on the same plane, are dynamic forms of artistic expression created by the vast amount of images and information passing through her body.

This is Imazu’s first large-scale solo exhibition, who has garnered much attention in recent years both in Japan and abroad. The title, “Tanah Air,” is made up of the Indonesian words tanah(earth) and air(water). Together, these two words mean “homeland.” Imazu’sworks—based on her thoughts and experiences while living in both Indonesia, where she currently lives, and Japan, where she has her roots—invite audiences into a contemplative return to one’s sense of place and belonging.

Keyword for the exhibition
Imazu’s works employ images taken from a variety of media as their motifs. Since moving to Indonesia, her pictorial surfaces have come to reflect various personal experiences, Indonesian history and mythology, urban development, and environmental issues. These are some of the keywords that will help viewers to decipher Imazu’s work.

The myth of Hainuwele
The subject of a myth from the island of Seram, Indonesia, Hainuwele is the name of a woman born from a coconut who had the power to create exotic treasures from her own excrement. She was buried alive by men who feared her mystical power, but when her body was cut up and buried, various kinds of tuberous crops grew out of the land, helping to support the islanders. Imazu interprets this myth from various angles, including feminism and colonial history, connecting it to her own personal experience as a mother.

Development and environmental pollution
For Imazu, who lives in Indonesia, the repeated plundering of resources by developed countries and the resulting environmental issues are a daily reality. The local subjects depicted in her work include the Citarum River, called “the most polluted river in the world,” the eruption of a mud volcano at a natural gas mining site in Sidoarjo, and the lives of their inhabitants.

Japan and Indonesia
Indonesia was a Dutch colony in the modern era and was occupied by Japan during World War II. Imazu quotes images from various historical sources on her canvases in order to think critically about the relationship between the Indonesia where she lives today, and Japan, where she has her roots, creating paintings in a bid to verify her own place in this world.

From plane to space
In recent years, Imazu’s practice has expanded from a predominant focus on painting to works with a more spatial presence, such as large three-dimensional pieces created with a 3D printer, as well as installations. For this exhibition, Imazu will present a new installation about the cultivation of cinchona, a special remedy for malaria, which was once practiced in Bandung. Also showcased here are skeletal specimens, earthenware, and other large-scale sculptures scattered throughout the venue. Audiences will be able to enjoy the world of Imazu’s works throughout the entire venue.

Kei Imazu
Born 1980 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, and currently lives and works in Bandung, Indonesia. Graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tama Art University in 2007. She received the Prize for Excellence at VOCA in 2009 and the Encouragement Award at the 5th Kinutani Koji Award in 2013.

In Japan, Imazu has participated in exhibitions such as Roppongi Crossing 2019: Connexions (Mori Art Museum) and the Aichi Triennale 2019. In 2020, the Prix Jean François Prat in France nominated her as a finalist, and she participated indocumenta fifteen in 2022. In 2024, she participated in the Changwon Sculpture Biennale in South Korea and the Bangkok Art Biennale in Thailand, continuing to gain significant recognition and exhibit actively both in Japan and abroad.