archive : tomotosi

archive : tomotosi

Born 1983 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, currently based in Tokyo, Japan.
10 years involved in architectural design and urban planning after graduating from the construction engineering course at Toyohashi University of Technology in 2006.
2014-present: video installation works.
Since 2020, she has been planning and managing the Tomo Urban Art Museum (now the TOMO Urban Art Museum) in Nishiogikubo.
Major exhibitions include Missing Sun (Art Competition 2021) (Yoyogi TOH, 2021), Hernia City (Tomo Urban Art Museum, 2020), Aerobic Nampa (The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 2019), Aichi Triennale 2019 (Toyota City, 2019), tttv (Central Main Line Art Gallery , 2018). Major awards include the Audience Award at Image Forum Festival 2019, the Runner-up Grand Prix at WIRED CREATIVE HACK AWARD 2019 and the Excellence Award at Daily Portal Z Newcomer Award 2020.

He works by ‘performing actions that create distortions in urban spaces and public rules, documenting the moment when people’s movements are transformed’. This attitude as an artist is nurtured by the conclusion that “the perfect design of architecture and cities is impossible”, which he arrived at after years of working as a designer in architecture and urban design (it is impossible to take in and morph the infinite range of human emotions and behaviour). When I realised that cities are inherently imperfect, my interest shifted to updating the way cities are used themselves. Since then, he has given up design and is now plotting to develop new ways of using cities as an artist.

http://tomotosi.com/

The Training of Breakup 2022
Single Channel FHD video    
director and performance by Tomotosi
video camera : Hayashi Chiho, Yoshidayama, Watanabe Makoto, Tomotosi
The video work containing 22 variations of training exercises to help us overcome the frustration of missing a train.

“Missing The Missing Sun”  2021    

Video, Masks, Sewing tools, Pole
 
The work for ‘’Ripples of Water 2021‘’. This action is to make a white flag with masks that fall on the street. I gradually increased the size of the masks during the exhibition, and finally ended up with 64 mask white flags.
 
 
“To Tokyo Olympics With 3 Fish”   2020     (trailer) 
video work : 11:56min

July 24, 2020 (the same day as the scheduled opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics 2020). tomotosi moved the three fish as if they were swimming in the ocean and finally threw them into the grounds of the new national stadium.

Camera; CHIBA Daijiro, MIYANO Kaori    (Please don’t use this video for commercial purposes.)

“Japan, the Beautiful, and Ourselves”  2019  

video work 11:56min ( no video now)

tomotosi’s message is “the Tokyo Olympics is coming soon” “A lot of foreigners visit Tokyo” “So we have to be more beautiful” His stubble has his Olympic logo on his chest. In a context of mixed context, he begins to make unreasonable demands. A record of the response of busy commuters to a series of performances.

Japan, the Ambiguous, and Ourselves.”  2019     (trailer) 

video work :  5:33min    ( no video now)

tomotosi waits patiently on the street in a state of selfie shooting. He then records the moment when passersby come into view and pose for the camera. In today’s society, “encounters” are carefully designed. However, what you see here are people who have broken the rules (such as not interfering with people taking pictures with cameras) and have met me.

 
“Formal City”    2019     (trailer) 

video work : 7:13min, Pajamas, Suits

April brings a new start in Japan. During the rush to work in downtown Tokyo, I changed my clothes from pajamas into suit. The moment I wore the suit, I felt like I was just getting used to the city.

 

There is a 7-Eleven store directly opposite the gallery where a solo exhibition was held. One day as I was very tired from preparations for an exhibition so that I could not even walk, I thought to myself. “I wish this gallery was a 7-Eleven.” This work involved photographing the 7-Eleven store, printing the photos using 7-Elevens network printing, cutting paper with a pair of scissors gluing them with tape both bought at 7-Eleven, thus copying pasting the 7-Eleven into the gallery.

“Buzzer Beater”  2018

Single Channel FHD video    
director and performance by Tomotosi
video camera : Harakawa Ken, Uchiyama Chie

When the train arrives at the station and the person sitting in the seat at the far end stands up, the person sitting next to him moves. It seems to me that this movement says a lot.

 Reverse Panopticon 2016

Video Work :  6:25min

A city is managed so finely today. I tried to set up a soft hack in the park in such a city. Although the first plant is too small to notice, gradually change it little by little. We get a lot of information on a daily basis. At the same time, we miss many pieces of information.