2021
OUR LOOMING GROUND ZERO
Unique c-print photograms (letter stencil, sunlight, artist's breath), metal frame, plumb bob, pigment, twine, spot light
Installation: Various (108 framed 8 x 10 in. prints with plumb bobs suspended from the ceiling)
Our Looming Ground Zero is a multimedia installation consisting of 108 framed photograms, created by exposing light sensitive paper to sunlight, juxtaposed with 108 black plumb bobs. Traditionally, plumb bobs are commonly used in homes during construction to measure the flatness of the floor. Here, they echo the annihilated and flattened land of Hiroshima which Ito’s grandfather witnessed.
These painted plumb bobs are suspended from the gallery ceiling, pointing directly to the framed prints as both markers and looming ominous threats. Each photogram contains one ordinary word in stark contrast such as “Chair”, “Mother”, “Tree”, “You”, and “Me”. Together, these two elements combine to create a fleeting monument to all the things, from small and forgotten objects, systems, and to more personal items such as body parts that we stand to lose in the wake of impending nuclear annihilation.
Our Looming Ground Zero raises an ephemeral gravesite built on top of an already existing mountain of sacrifices - including people, landscapes, and ways of life - in which our current state of peace unsteadily rests upon. Here, I offer a chance for us to come together after experiencing the recent large-scale global trauma to reflect on the ramifications of our current course, our shared losses, and to submit a prayer for the future.
2021
OUR LOOMING GROUND ZERO
Unique c-print photograms (letter stencil, sunlight, artist's breath), metal frame, plumb bob, pigment, twine, spot light
Installation: Various (108 framed 8 x 10 in. prints with plumb bobs suspended from the ceiling)
Our Looming Ground Zero is a multimedia installation consisting of 108 framed photograms, created by exposing light sensitive paper to sunlight, juxtaposed with 108 black plumb bobs. Traditionally, plumb bobs are commonly used in homes during construction to measure the flatness of the floor. Here, they echo the annihilated and flattened land of Hiroshima which Ito’s grandfather witnessed.
These painted plumb bobs are suspended from the gallery ceiling, pointing directly to the framed prints as both markers and looming ominous threats. Each photogram contains one ordinary word in stark contrast such as “Chair”, “Mother”, “Tree”, “You”, and “Me”. Together, these two elements combine to create a fleeting monument to all the things, from small and forgotten objects, systems, and to more personal items such as body parts that we stand to lose in the wake of impending nuclear annihilation.
Our Looming Ground Zero raises an ephemeral gravesite built on top of an already existing mountain of sacrifices - including people, landscapes, and ways of life - in which our current state of peace unsteadily rests upon. Here, I offer a chance for us to come together after experiencing the recent large-scale global trauma to reflect on the ramifications of our current course, our shared losses, and to submit a prayer for the future.
© 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.