In his diverse practice spanning video, photography, site-specific installations, and intervention projects, Koki Tanaka visualizes the multiple contexts embedded in the simplest of everyday acts, revealing their deeper meaning within. In early works centered on found objects, Tanaka employed quotidian items experimentally to explore ways to break free from the routines of daily life. With A Haircut by 9 Hairdressers at Once (Second Attempt) (2010), the artist began a series of “collaborative” projects that organized temporary groups for specific causes in order to uncover the dynamics within micro-societies and temporary communities. Following the March 11 earthquake in Japan in 2011, Tanaka assumed a role akin to that of a film director to organize, produce, and direct a series of works centered on human relationships in Japan, which he refers to as “collective actions.” This exhibition will showcase the artist’s decade-long creative practice, featuring over ten works, and including his early installations alongside new video works supported by UCCA. This exhibition is curated by UCCA Curator Neil Zhang.

About the Artist

Koki Tanaka (b. 1975, Tochigi, Japan; lives and works in Kyoto) graduated from Tokyo Zokei University (BFA) in 2000 and Tokyo University of the Arts (MFA) in 2005. His major solo exhibitions include “Vulnerable Histories (A Road Movie)” (Art Sonje Center, Seoul, 2020); “Precarious Tasks” (Mirrored Gardens, Guangzhou, 2019); “Vulnerable Histories (A Road Movie)” (Migros Museum of Contemporary Art, Zurich, 2018); “Provisional Studies (Working Title)” (Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, 2017); “Potters and Poets” (Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2016); “Possibilities for being together. Their praxis.” (Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Gallery, Mito-shi, Ibaraki, 2015); “A Vulnerable Narrator” (Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle, Berlin, 2015); “Abstract Speaking – Sharing Uncertainty and Collective Acts” (Japan Pavilion, the 55th Venice Biennale, 2013). His work has also been shown extensively in group exhibitions and biennales including “Antibodies” (Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2021); “Though it’s dark, still I sing” (Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2021); “Every Step in the Right Direction” (Singapore Biennale, Singapore, 2019); “Taming Y/Our Passion” (Aichi Triennale, Aichi, Japan, 2019); “Action!” (Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich, 2017); “Viva Arte Viva” (the 57th Venice Biennale, 2017); “Trace of Existence” (UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2016); “Mobile M+: Moving Images” (M+, Hong Kong, 2015). His work is held in the collections of institutions including M+, Hong Kong; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; and Van Abbemuseum, Netherlands.