2023
IN THE WAKE OF HISTORY
Unique c-print photograms (historical archive, sunlight, artist's breath)
80 x 20 in. (5 of 16 x 20 in. prints)
In the Wake of History is a series of photograms made with various historical archives which acts as artworks themselves and historical records.
Original photograph for In the Wake of History: I Am An American was taken by the photographer Dorothea Lange, who was hired by the War Relocation Authority to create a photographic record of the relocation of Japanese-Americans in 1942.
Dorothea Lange’s Original Caption:
"Oakland, Calif., Mar. 1942. A large sign reading “I am an American” placed in the window of a store, at [8th] and Franklin streets, on December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor. The store was closed following orders to persons of Japanese descent to evacuate from certain West Coast areas. The owner, a University of California graduate, will be housed with hundreds of evacuees in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration of the war."
2023
IN THE WAKE OF HISTORY
Unique c-print photograms (historical archive, sunlight, artist's breath)
80 x 20 in. (5 of 16 x 20 in. prints)
In the Wake of History is a series of photograms made with various historical archives which acts as artworks themselves and historical records.
Original photograph for In the Wake of History: I Am An American was taken by the photographer Dorothea Lange, who was hired by the War Relocation Authority to create a photographic record of the relocation of Japanese-Americans in 1942.
Dorothea Lange’s Original Caption:
"Oakland, Calif., Mar. 1942. A large sign reading “I am an American” placed in the window of a store, at [8th] and Franklin streets, on December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor. The store was closed following orders to persons of Japanese descent to evacuate from certain West Coast areas. The owner, a University of California graduate, will be housed with hundreds of evacuees in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration of the war."
© 2023 by Kei Ito.
Created on Editor X.
Sungazing
2015 - Ongoing
108 of 8”x10” prints, Scroll: 12” x 150’ to 220’ depending on the edition
On August 6th 1945, at 8:15 AM, my grandfather witnessed a great tragedy that destroyed nearly everything in Hiroshima. He survived the bombing, yet he lost many of his family members from the explosion and radiation poisoning. As an activist and author, my grandfather fought against the use of nuclear weaponry throughout his life, until he too passed away from cancer when I was ten years old. I remember him saying that day in Hiroshima was like hundreds of suns lighting up the sky.
In order to express the connection between the sun and my family history, I have created 108 letter size prints and a 200 foot long scroll, made by exposing Type-C photographic paper to sunlight. The pattern on the prints/scroll corresponds to my breath. In a darkened room, I pulled the paper in front of a small aperture to expose it to the sun while inhaling, and paused when exhaling. I repeated this action until I breathed 108 times. 108 is a number with ritual significance in Japanese Buddhism; to mark the Japanese New Year, bells toll 108 times, ridding us of our evil passions and desires, and purifying our souls.
If the black parts of the print remind you of a shadow, it is the shadow of my breath, which is itself a registration of my life, a life I share with and owe to my grandfather. The mark of the atomic blast upon his life and upon his breath was passed on to me, and you can see it as the shadow of this print.