Dates: 2013, August 3^rd, Saturday to August 25^th (The gallery will be close for summer vacation August 12^th to 18^th)
Venue: MEM
Hours of Operation: 12:00 – 20:00 (Closed on Mondays)
Telephone Number 03-6459-3205

Since the 1990’s, Ken Kitano has undertaken his our face series. Starting in Japan, he has taken photographic portraits of individuals from different social groups throughout Asia. These portraits are superimposed on the same photographic paper, each image representing a different group. There are 133 images in the Asia series of our face and was completed last year. The monograph of the series has been published by Seigensha. In this monograph all the images from the series have been reproduced along with text from the artist and Yu Hidaka. We have recorded where Kitano traveled for shooting the project and compiled the information onto a map of Asia. We believe the information provided in this photographic anthology enriches Kitano’s original project.

For this exhibition, in addition to the publishing anniversary talk, we will present Kitano’s newest work from his life-sized gelatin silver prints from the series that he has been working on since 2010. We would like to invite you to experience this powerful work firsthand. We are also offering a limited edition original photographic print with the purchase of each photographic anthology.

Ken Kitano’s our face: Asia Photography Collection Anniversary Talk
To celebrate the anniversary of publishing this photography anthology, we have invited Satoshi Machiguchi, a designer who was an integral part in the production of this anthology; Yu Hidaka, author of the text; and Hisako Motoo, an independent curator who was in charge of editing. The talk will take place in NADiff a/p/a/r/t. We hope to hear about their experience making this photographic collection and their thoughts about Ken Kitano’s work. Ken Kitano currently lives in Los Angeles so he will participate via Skype.

Time: August 3^rd 18:00-
Venue: NADiff a/p/a/r/t (Tokyo, Ebisu 1-184)
Participation is free of charge (seating available for 30 people)
Cooperation by Seigensha
For any inquiries please contact MEM (03-6459-3205/art@mem-inc.jp)

Ken Kitano Photographic Anthology our face: Asia
Hardcover : 304 pages
Size: 290 × 220 × 38 mm
Published by Seigensha
Editing: Hisako Motoo
Cooperation by Ishida Katsuya (MEM Inc.)
Text : Yu Hidaka
Languages: Japanese, English, Chinese

Limited First Edition Copies 100 (signed with gelatin silver print)
The print is an superimposed portrait of 30 Geisha from Miyagawa city.

Ken Kitano

He was born in 1968, Tokyo. He graduated Nihon University’s College of Industrial Technology in 1991. He had a one-person show, Flow and Fusion (I.C.A.C. Weston Gallery, Tokyo, Japan) in 1993. He participated in the Young Portfolio Acquisitions show (Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Yamanashi, Japan) in 1996. His one-person show, our face was exhibited in 2006 (Photo Gallery International, Tokyo, Japan) and he participated in a group show Photography Today (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan). our face was exhibited in 2016 (Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing, China). In 2007 he received The Photographic Society of Japan’s Rookie of the Year award. In 2011 he received the 14th Okamoto Taro Modern Art Award’s Special Award. From 2013 to 2014 he lived in Los Angeles researching as an up-and-coming artist chosen by the government of Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.