3331 GALLERY ♯030 Mari Katayama solo exhibition "shadow puppet" - 3331 ART FAIR recommended artists -

3331 Gallery presents a solo exhibition by artist Mari Katayama, selected during 3331 ART FAIR (held March 2015).

A self who is not myself

Mari Katayama, having both legs amputated, came to use prosthetic limbs at the age of nine. In her childhood, she was met with perplexed looks and insidious bullying by her surroundings.
In her growth phase, her prosthetic legs quickly lost their fit and had to be replaced many times. The disused prosthetic legs went accumulated in the closet.
Looking at those prosthetics, now mere shells, and checking her appearance fit with prosthetics in the mirror, there is no doubt that she has asked herself over and over, "Is this me?" It is a ceaseless question that resounds throughout all of her artwork.
Lacan said that the image of a fragmented body often appears in the dreams of the mentally ill. Yet, even the awareness of a coordinated (normal) body is nothing more than a secondary story　constructed on a mirror's surface.
Katayama thrusts forth such a primitive sense of the body inherent to us all. Thus, it shakes us to the core.
We are all Mari Katayama.

Hisashi Muroi (Philosopher / Professor, Yokohama National University)
Translated by 3331 Arts Chiyoda


■ Artist Profile
1987 Born in Saitama. Raised in Gunma, Japan.
2012 M.F.A., Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo

Selected Exhibitions
2010 "identity, body it.―curated by Takashi Azumaya―", NCA, Tokyo
2012 Grand prize at "Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi 2012"
2013 "Aichi Triennale 2013", Nayabashi, Aichi
2014 Solo exhibition "you're mine", Traumaris, Tokyo
2016 "Roppongi Crossing 2016", Mori Art Museum, Tokyo