Ayakamay

Captive Train_reck

January 4th, 2017 – January 22nd, 2017

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 7th, 7pm – 9pm

 

 

The Lodge Gallery is proud to debut new video, print, and live performance works by Ayakamay in her new solo exhibition, Captive Train_reck. Ayakamay’s work tackles the blurred lines of commercial marketing with traditional gender and cultural perceptions. In this, her latest body of work, her focus centers around creating what the artist describes as,  “an irritating and uncomfortable attraction… to take in something which one doesn’t want to watch, and in doing so opens oneself up to a new world view.” 

There is a whimsy and humor to many of the works, the effect of which is sometimes subtle, as in the Japanese text that frames the stationary figures in Beer Girl, and other times overt as in her self portrait as a Japanese pop-culture idol. In this piece titled Idol Worship, whatever humor there is in a plastic, camera-ready smile serves only to underscore the artists philosophy. As Ayakamay explains, “society is not always simply divided by right and wrong or dark and light. It is the beauty of the taboo grey area that these pieces examine and celebrate.” 

During Ayakamay’s performance, audience members may be recorded in the documentation of these special moments.

Ayakamay combines image-making with fantastically constructed but intimate live experiences. The staged, costumed worlds of studio photography and videography are combined with interactive performances engaging the unpredictability of encounters with strangers and exchanges of physical senses and emotional states. Ayaka’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Japan.

 

Performances:
Saturday, January 7th, 7pm
Wednesday, January 11th, 8pm