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Kei Ito

Multidisciplinary, Multidisciplinary Art, Multimedia, Performance, Performance Art, Photography, Sculpture / Installation, Visual / Media

About the Artist

Kei Ito is an interdisciplinary artist whose work centers on utilizing the conceptual framework of photography to visualize the invisible. Primarily employing camera-less photographic techniques, performance, and artifacts—including c-print sunlight exposures, material-based processes, and site-responsive interventions—Ito creates large-scale installations that excavate hidden histories. As a third-generation atomic bomb survivor living in the United States, Ito draws on his generational history as a series of case studies, addressing nuclear history, intergenerational memory, and environmental trauma. His work often engages the language of monuments and memorials, initiating a process of healing while inviting audiences to confront complex social and historical conditions. Ito’s work has been widely exhibited internationally and is held in institutional collections including the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Norton Museum of Art, Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, Candela Collection, Johns Hopkins University, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Georgia Museum of Art, and Royal Ontario Museum. His work has been featured in publications such as BBC, The Washington Post, and Hyperallergic, and he has participated in prominent residency programs including Light Work and Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts.  

Kei Ito website Website

Featured Work

Photos

R_st in Peace: Little Boy is from a series of paintings made with iron infused pigment painted in a form of extremely simplified shape of historical weapons; the paint then is partially rusted and continued the process of rusting and oxidation until the black iron paint is fully turned into solid rusted squares. The shape of the painting is a simplified version of Little Boy, the first ever weaponized atomic bomb that was later dropped on Hiroshima, taking the measurement from longest and shortest length of each side of the bomb. Metal - to Ito - is a symbol of manmade items, culture, and society and an element that hints at an earlier time, a more archaic time in humanity’s history. As the paint continues to oxidate and change during the exhibition, it summons visions of ruined and abandoned architecture and technology - either abandoned due to technological advancements or treaties like the sites found scattered throughout the American Midwest or perhaps due to a more apocalyptic event and the remaining radiation causing the lands to be abandoned and falling apart.
"In This Age of Ours" is a mix-media painting series that uses historical photographs/documents combined with painted words on the canvas. The first of the project, "In This Age of Ours: Sacrifice" consists of an inverted photograph of a goat, exposed to an A-bomb blast radiation on Bikini Atoll Island, getting a blood transfusion by three masked doctors as it lies strapped to a surgical table at Bethesda Naval Medical Research Institute, MD. This found photograph was originally by George Skad-ding in 1946; from LIFE Photo Collection. Overtop this image are two spray painted questions: whose sacrifice and whose peace? A red peace symbol is painted in the center of the composition, partially obscuring the photograph - a historical document in a forgotten archive.
"In This Age of Ours" is a mix-media painting series that uses historical photographs/documents combined with painted words on the canvas. The first of the project, "In This Age of Ours: Sacrifice" consists of an inverted photograph of a goat, exposed to an A-bomb blast radiation on Bikini Atoll Island, getting a blood transfusion by three masked doctors as it lies strapped to a surgical table at Bethesda Naval Medical Research Institute, MD. This found photograph was originally by George Skad-ding in 1946; from LIFE Photo Collection. Overtop this image are two spray painted questions: whose sacrifice and whose peace? A red peace symbol is painted in the center of the composition, partially obscuring the photograph - a historical document in a forgotten archive.
"Talking Heads" features two painted radios and radio transmitters. The two separate audio tracks are being transmitted through the radio transmitters which were received and played through each radio. The audio was composed with a number of different siren sounds across various nations and times, including the nuclear strike test siren sounded in Hawaii in 2017, the emergency siren issued in Japan during the North Korean nuclear weapon testing, and the first siren that rang out in Ukraine signaling the beginning of the War with Russia. The sirens are modified into a type of drone music overlaid with my own voice, questioning “Who is going to be the next Sacrifice for Peace” and “Who is going to be the next Sacrifice for War”. Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Td8mK6JL8c&t=65s
The repeating words are created by placing ash on a wooden pedestal. The ash placed on the surface is not fixed; this means that the work is constantly affected by the presence and movements of the audience members throughout the exhibition. The perfectly legible words at the opening reception may not be legible by the end of the show. This ephemeral piece highlights how our ideas and culture around war and peace are not just stagnant or unaffected by all of us. The size of this artwork is depending on the available wooden pedestal or floor space.