Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.


Yoi Kawakubo artist

Yoi Kawakubo was born to Japanese parents in Toledo, Spain in 1979. Educated in applied neuroscience at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, Kawakubo initially worked as a financial trader. Transitioning to art in 2008, and now based in London, his art critically engages with themes of history, culture, socio-economics and philosophy, often reflecting on global issues and personal experiences; primarily through photography and installation, he explores the complexities of contemporary society, inviting viewers to reconsider their understanding of existence.

Born: 1979 Toledo, Spain


Biography

Artist Yoi Kawakubo was born to Japanese parents in Toledo, Spain in 1979. Educated in applied neuroscience at the University of Tsukuba, Japan (2003–5), Kawakubo initially worked as a financial trader. This unique combination of experiences has infused his artistic practice with a nuanced understanding of global economic structures, alongside a deep interest in the intersections of socio-economic, historical, and philosophical narratives. His transition to art in 2008 marked a significant pivot in Kawakubo's life, fuelled by a desire to engage with complex themes surrounding history, personal narrative, and the philosophical underpinnings of contemporary society. His work is notably interdisciplinary, incorporating photography, moving images, and sound installations that draw upon extensive historical research and personal introspection, often reflecting a critical engagement with economic and social questions, and inviting viewers into a layered exploration of the world around us.

Kawakubo's multicultural background—raised in Spain by Japanese parents, educated and working in Japan, and subsequently relocating to London—greatly enriches his artistic output. He creates works that dialogue between cultures, utilising literature, particularly from Spanish and Latin American traditions, as a conceptual springboard. The influence of literary figures, such as Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar, is evident in Kawakubo's use of narrative and metaphor, which he employs to dissect and reframe our understanding of existence and our collective place within it. A defining aspect of Kawakubo's practice is his ability to oscillate between intuition and logical reasoning, a methodology that he describes as creating a pendulum between reasoned thought-building and intuitive leapism (Binder and Haupt 2017). His contribution to DISPLACEMENT: Uncertain Journeys, a project curated by Hannah Entwisle Chapuisat, DISPLACEMENT Curator and Director of La Fruitière, showcases his commitment to addressing contemporary global issues through art. As a pivotal part of a broader initiative, Kawakubo’s work specifically involves the documentation of all existing nuclear power plants in Japan through large format photography, with the majority of the photographs remaining unpublished until after 2031. The project draws parallels between the periodic rebuilding of Shinto shrines — a tradition that spans over 1300 years — and the cyclical nature of nuclear disasters, suggesting a breakdown in the transmission of knowledge and tradition as a potential cause for recurring catastrophes. By planning to release these works in the future, Kawakubo aims to engage with generational memory and the impact of historical events on societal decisions, particularly as they relate to nuclear energy and its legacy.

Kawabuko has shown both internationally and in the UK. British group shows have included the Florence Trust summer exhibition (London, 2017), following a residency there, and the touring show, Picturing the Invisible (Royal Geographical Society, London, 2021; Heong Gallery, Downing College, University of Cambridge, 2023). In his 2018 solo exhibition I/body/ghost at Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix in London, he explored the non-physicality of phenomena and its manifestations, much like attempting to decipher the logic of a dream. The show featured large wall installations of financial charts, derived from the artist's previous career, presented in a manner that both beautifies and critiques the optimism of financial forecasting. Additionally, Study for a Zekkei VI (tea ceremony in the darkness) invited visitors to experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in total darkness, challenging the conventional valuation of art by removing the visual component and focusing on the worth beyond sight. The video The God of the Labyrinth dissected and reassembled a Borges story into a new narrative, presented in a multilingual format that reflects on the interplay between language, culture, and meaning. Through I/body/ghost Kawakubo invited his audience to peel away layers of perception, revealing a coherent, complex picture of our contemporary world.

In his Radiance series (2019), Kawakubo transcends the conventional narratives of tragedy to probe the enigmatic allure of the atomic age. Utilising unexposed silver halide film, which he buried for months in the radioactive soil of Fukushima's evacuation zone, Kawakubo's artwork emerges with a haunting coloration that reflects the paradoxical beauty inherent in nuclear phenomena. The series' title is inspired by a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, famously recalled by physicist Robert Oppenheimer during the first atomic explosion, symbolising a profound, if ominous, revelation of humanity's capacity for both creation and destruction. Kawakubo's work interrogates Japan's ambivalent embrace of nuclear power post-Hiroshima and Nagasaki, juxtaposing the nation's historical trauma with its post-war industrial resurrection. Through Radiance Kawakubo contemplates the dichotomy of danger and sublimity, inviting reflection on our collective enthrallment with the potent and often perilous secrets of the atom, heralding an era he dubs the ‘New Clear Age’ – a realm of visible darkness where the celestial and the catastrophic converge. Kawakubo has been awarded numerous awards and fellowships, including the Fellow of the Overseas Study Programme for Artists by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, and the POLA Art Foundation award for overseas research. His work is not currently represented in UK public collections. Yoi Kawakubo lives and works between Tokyo and London.

Related web links

Selected exhibitions

  • Yoi Kawakubo and Nao Matsunaga, Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix, London (2024)
  • Heong Gallery, Downing College, University of Cambridge (2023)
  • Picturing the Invisible (group touring exhibition), Royal Geographical Society, London (2021)
  • I/body/ghost, Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix, London (2018)
  • Summer Exhibition (group show), Florence Trust, London (2017)
  • Stella Maris was a name I found in a dream, The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London (2016)
  • To tell a (hi)story, Husk Gallery, London (2015)
  Yoi Kawakubo
   
Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Yoi Kawakubo ]

Ben Uri library

Publications related to [Yoi Kawakubo ] in the Ben Uri Library