archive : tomotosi

photo : Fujita Naoki

Born 1983 in Yamaguchi, Japan. Based in Tokyo. After graduating from university in 2006, tomotosi worked in architectural design and urban planning for ten years. He has been presenting video installation works since 2014. In urban spaces, tomotosi creates works based on the theme of “actions that consciously change people’s movements”. Awards include “Daily Portal Z Rookie of the Year Award 2020” second prize, “WIRED CREATIVE HACK AWARD 2019” Second prize, “Image Forum Festival 2019” audience award.

Exhibitions include “Koganecho Bazaar 2021“, Yokohama, “Aerobic Nampa” The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 2019, “Aichi Triennale 2019” Aichi.

Statement

He creates his works by “taking actions that cause distortions in urban spaces and public rules, and recording the moments when people’s movements are transformed. This attitude as an artist is nurtured from the conclusion that there is no such thing as a perfect design for architecture and cities, which he has reached after being involved in architecture and urban design as a designer for many years (it is impossible to take in and morph an infinite number of human emotions and behaviors). When he realized that the city was originally incomplete, his interest shifted to updating the way we use the city itself. Since then, he has given up on design and am now planning to develop new ways of using the city as an artist.

http://tomotosi.com/

“Missing The Missing Sun” 2021 (trailer)

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.)

“Variation Route α”　2020 (trailer) 　

video work : 7:13min

“Variation Route β”　2020 (trailer) 　

video work : 5:32min

Elevator and Escalators may be a variation route for vertical movement in cities. Different means of transportation will result in different behaviors for those who request it. This time I tried modest resistance to those behaviors.

“Japan, the Beautiful, and Ourselves” 2019　 (trailer) 　

video work 11:56min

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

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.

“Buying a 7-Eleven at 7-Eleven trailer” 2018 (trailer)

video work :5:29min Smartphone, 7-Eleven Net Print, scissors, cutter, ruler, tape

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.

“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.