O JUN "A dove flying away, I am surprised"（TOKYO）
25 May - 25 June 2016
Mizuma Art Gallery is honoured to present O JUN’s solo exhibition ‘A dove flying away, I am surprised’, opening on Wednesday 25th May.
One day in January 2014, I was opening the door to my house when in that moment, all of a sudden, I was taken by surprise by a dove flying away. Unable to forget that scene, I thought – I will make this into a picture…
From this seemingly trivial episode – “not just an impulse, but an impulsive impulse” – began O JUN’s creation of ‘A dove flying away, I am surprised’. In two years, it has instigated a series of over 100 works made with a wide range of forms, techniques and materials including drawings, watercolors, paintings, and prints. All of these will be shown together in this exhibition, together with new works.
“There are two reasons I decided to depict this as a picture. Firstly, the fact that no matter what part of the scene I took as my subject, I thought it could perhaps never become a picture. The second was that I thought if I let this chance slip, perhaps I would not have a second chance to depict something like this.”
Although the represented event itself does not change, the image of it alters in a seemingly volatile manner: at times drawing close to the artist; at times moving further away. The works’ creation process has a sense of exploratory reaching for something which, even once it is seemingly captured, continues to elude one’s grasp – much like the dove which flew away.
How will O JUN depict this un-picturable picture?
We warmly invite you to witness, in detail, the two years of challenges O JUN has overcome.
In addition, several texts will be presented together within the exhibition, all identically titled, which document the days of the artworks’ production.
O JUN is holding two other solo shows concurrently with this exhibition: ‘Mamanchan An’ at the Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (16th April – 3rd July) and ‘O JUN: Junko Shinajina’ at void+, Tokyo (until 28th May). We encourage you not to miss the chance to see these excellent ongoing showcases of O JUN’s work.
