Tomori Nagamoto

Sakura
Special performance by TOMORI NAGAMOTO as part of upART Contemporary Art Fair 2008 @ the Gladstone Hotel
Curated by Rafi Ghanaghounian of Keep Six Contemporary gallery

upArt Contemporary Art Fair 2008 @ the Gladstone Hotel
Thursday October 2 to Sunday October 5, 2008
(Event coincides with Toronto International Art Fair and Scotia Bank Nuit Blanche

Photo Gallery
upArt Contemporary Art Fair	EXPLICIT FANTASTIC Opening

Statement:

Tomori Nagamoto's new work represents the expectations and misconceptions of visitors' perceptions of their experiences in and of Japan. One main taboo that sticks out to most outsiders is the obsession with Japanese schoolgirls and the other being the lack of individual space. It's always crowded and girls seem to be in uniform after school and through the night hanging outside train station and cafes.

To recreate the feeling of crowdedness and the uncomfortable presence of under-age schoolgirls staring provocatively into your eyes, Nagamoto has placed twelve Japanese schoolgirls in a small room of a downtown hotel.

As people bump up against the girls (because of lack of space), the girls will respond one in two ways.

Are they inviting you to play or accusing you of lewd thoughts?

Come in and find out!

About the artist: Tomori Nagamoto

Self-taught artist, Tomori Nagamoto was born in Japan in 1973 and now lives in Toronto.

Tomori's art denotes urban isolation and the loneliness of its inhabitants. People and the ways of which they adopt to the space around them is the key focus of Nagamoto. From Japan, the place of his birth, to Canada in which he resides now. But also through his travels. His work represents the unusual loneliness in most of these crowded cities. How people interact and perceive each other is shown through his work. Mostly painting of figures in the forefront of what seems to be a busy city. His subjects are content and seam to seduce the viewer. Almost as a welcoming gesture.

He was presented with the "Best Artist" -award from NOW Magazine in 2002 and EYE Magazine in 2003 as the best local visual artist of the year. Tomori's work has been featured in books, magazines and other media, and he has exhibited his works in Canada, U.S., China and Japan.