Yamashita, Ikehara, Urata: Moi Moi Konnichiwa | 16.-25.11.2018

16.-25. November 2018
Titanik A.i.R. Studio
Opening 15. November 6-8pm

Opening performance with small tea ceremony
Live painting of Japanese painting and digital technology
By Kazuya YAMASHITA and Yuta IKEHARA
Small tea ceremony by Saori URATA and Nobuko MORI

Ink paintings that shows his life in Finland by Kazuya YAMASHITA
Collage work made up of local materials by Yuta IKEHARA
Drawing works made up of local materials by Saori URATA

See Saw Seeds is a co-operative art project of exchanging artists between Dubai, Hamburg, Turku and Kobe produced by four artgroups in those cities.

See Saw Seeds Effect; Moi Moi Konnichiwa was started by a call from the artists in Turku when they found See Saw Seeds was worth to be continued.

This year, three artists with a staff from Kobe will visit Turku and will produce artworks and give an exhibition, lecture/workshops with people there by a help of Arte ry as local art community.

Through their experiences of being in Turku, the artists are to produce works, referring a local culture and daily life in Turku. Their artworks and existence would draw people’s interest and will revise their perspective of Japanese culture. In this manner this project will bring fruitful communication between two different cultures.

Like a small seed sprouts and grows to bloom, See Saw Seeds’ seeds spread and start to sprout. Though it is very small now, we wish that this project would bring a larger concept of global art community where everyone talks to anyone with a power of art.

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See Saw Seeds Effect; Moi Moi Konnichiwa

C.A.P.: The Conference on Art and Art Projects has been carrying on an open studio project mainly with local artists since 1999. With engagement of many artists from the region, one community has been established in Kobe Japan.

In May 2016, C.A.P. at Kobe, launched See Saw Seeds with art groups in Dubai, Turku and Hamburg, to exchange their artists and researchers. This See Saw Seeds Effect; Moi Moi Konnichiwa was begun by a call of Finnish artists of See Saw Seeds when they proposed to an art organization in Turku to do a next project with C.A.P. together.

Between Kobe and Turku, a larger project in 2020 (contain a small pre-project in 2019) has already talked that is to bring about ten artists coming to Kobe from Turku and stay one month to work together with us and local citizens. We are hoping these continuous activities will put people in both lands together and make them rich in culture and communications.

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”Since we arrived in Turku in early October, we have experienced various experiences and encounters. Everything we see, look, hear and listen, such as people, nature, culture, are fresh.”

Through their experiences of being in Turku, the artists are to produce works, referring a local culture and daily life in Turku. Their artworks and existence would draw people’s interest and will revise their perspective of Japanese culture.

We hope that it will bring fruitful communication between two different cultures in this exhibition.

By all members of the See Saw Seeds Effect; Moi Moi Konnichiwa

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Exchange residency program: “Moi Moi Konnichiwa” between Arte ry and C.A.P. during 2018-2019

Yuta Ikehara: ”I‘m a visual artist who collages pictures and drawings on a computer.I make my work as digital artwork mainly using Macintosh and iPad by open studio style, from 1 to 14th November.
I’ll create new work based on that I had experiences and collected materials since I’ve been coming to Finland in early October. I’m thinking of putting into my piece the deep impression of the atmosphere and light and shadow by sunshine and lights on here, because this is my first time visiting Finland.
Our exhibition will be start after two weeks of the open studio. On November 15th of the opening, I’ll do a digital live paint performance with Kazuya.”

Saori Urata: ”I work as a painter and a bookbinder. These my artworks was made from my inspirations what I get smarter from the experience of Turku life during this ”artist-in-residence”. And the other meaning of this work, it is also for myself to sort out and re-recognize my own experiences. I came to abroad for the first time in this project. I’ve been having so many discoveries through the living in Turku day by day. No matter what small thing it is. I have drawn these works from the daily various experiences. These drawings is made in various ways, such as collage, stippled mandala, sketch, memorandum written down on the go. I pick up some of those drawings and bookbinding them.”

Kazuya Yamashita: ”I’m a painter and a Japanese painting conservator. My artworks has been influenced by 20th century art and East Asian art. And I try to explore the possibilities of combining traditional and contemporary Japanese beauty of art.
I came to Finland for the first time. I got a deep impression on its nature and color.
I will exhibit some ink paintings and drawings that I made during my stay.
I hope to find similarities between Finland and Japan though my artworks.”

Nobuko Mori: ”I work as concert and workshop producer, sound-effect operator. I’m a staff on this project.
I was very much looking forward to this stay in Turku. Because I like traveling abroad very much. Always it give me various stimuli from many kind of soundscape and culture of human life. I have the ”small Japanese tea ceremony” at five times until the end of our exhibition. It’s very casual (informal) tea time. Would you come to TITANIK studio as a friend to chat Japanese artists with over Japanese tea? I’m glad you have a little interest in Japan.”

Full schedule http://www.titanik.fi/residence-yamashita-ikehara-urata-mori/