Akiko Suso is known for her hat creations in which the head becomes a shell, or transforms by becoming one with a pupa, or is hatching eggs, or has new tactile or other sensory functions… In her works, head and headgear become one, almost something like a deformation of the skull. Now, she is taking on the challenge of works and exhibits whose expressions are based on movement.

The title of this exhibit is “Transformation and Translocation.” The Japanese kanji for “Transformation” (化) shows an upright person and an upside-down person back-to-back, representing change and metamorphosis. The top part of the character for “translocation” (奔) is the kanji for “large” (大), which looks like a running person, and the bottom part is the “卉” shape, which indicates three footprints (or, according to another theory, a bud from a tree stump), indicating actions taken in the moment and acting as one pleases.

The exhibition allows visitors to experience the inherent peculiarities of hats by touching and wearing them and by walking around and looking at themselves in a mirror, and in so doing, experiencing the movements of the mind that result from such actions.
(Production: Banana Art)

Reception party: Friday, October 20, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
The reception will include two dance performances incorporating Akiko Suso’s works at 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. (approximately 15 minutes each).

Profiles

Artist: Akiko Suso
Born in Ishikawa Prefecture and currently living in Tokyo. After graduating from the Kanazawa College of Art with a major in visual design, worked for Shiseido Advertising Department and Haute Mode Hirata before going freelance. After working for Shiseido’s Advertising Department and Haute Mode Hirata, she became a freelance illustrator and hat artist. Her hat exhibitions include “Pop Shell Head” (1996), “Pupal Head” (2006), “Hatching Head” (2008), “Primal Form” (2011), and “Foresta” (2022). She was also featured in the 2010 Paris Collection and Tao (Tricot Comme des Garcons). Her books include Hats with Fun Shapes (Bunka Publishing Bureau), and her illustrations have been included in The unknown Mayan Civilization (Seibundo Shinkosha), and Evolution and Human Behavior (University of Tokyo Press).
http://www.suso.biz

Performance by Project Oh!Yama (Yuuri Furuie, Akiko Miwa, Satsuko Hasegawa)
Dance company leader Yuuri Furuie started Project Oh!Yama in 2006 with other members who graduated from the Dance and Dance Education program at Ochanomizu University. The company has been well-received for its unique costumes, music, choreography, and direction. They won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Yokohama Dance Collection R, and the “Next-generation Choreographer Award” at the 2010 Toyota Choreography Awards. They have presented numerous performances in Japan and abroad, including “Catch My Beam” (2011), “Everyone Knows” (2012), “Holstein” (2012), “Fantasy” (2013), “Keep on Dancing” (2016), and “A Wonderfully Ambiguous World” (2018). While teaching and promoting dance, the members also choreograph for and perform in plays, television programs, commercials, and music videos as solo performers.
Project Oh!Yama website: http://projectohyama.net
Akiko Miwa website: http://www.miwaakiko.jp/

Music by Naoyuki Takeda
Naoyuki Takeda is a Tokyo-based composer, arranger, DJ, and sound designer. He also performs under the aliases Datakestra and Anutha. He has provided music with a wide range of collaborators, including dance companies such as Project Oh!Yama, singer-songwriters, and corporations. He has also performed as a DJ at “Vogue Fashion’s Night Out” at Omotesando Hills, “Play Theater” at ROHM Theatre Kyoto, and Spain’s Ibiza Global Radio, which has three million listeners worldwide. Recently, he has been active as a sound designer in the areas of sound-based branding and marketing.
https://linktr.ee/NaoyukiTakeda

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