Hatarakimono Project

EVENT DESCRIPTION

WKM GALLERY is pleased to present K-NARF & SHOKO’s HATARAKIMONO PROJECT and to invite you to be part of it through an analogue-immersive exhibition that will happen in 2 parts to fully experience their project.

Started in 2016 in Tokyo, it took 3 years for artist-duo K-NARF & SHOKO to create an unprecedented visual archive made of a hundred portraits of HATARAKIMONO, the Japanese workers. They are now extending their project to the world planning to travel in 20 countries. In one year, they have already collected about 180 new portraits with expeditions in Italy, America, Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Their next stop-over is HONG KONG!

The Hatarakimono Project featuring hundreds of portraits of Japanese workers is currently archived until 2042 and will be exhibited at five international museums chosen by the artists. This unprecedented photographic project took about two years as every portrait had to be done directly on the spot with a portable photography background and then manually processed as tape-o-graphs, a Neo-analogue photographic technique invented by K-NARF more than fifteen years ago. This unique method of capturing moments, directly associated with the BRICOLAGE Art movement, reveals a staunch acceptance of reality in human history and evolution while paying a respect to those hard working people whose individual daily routines indeed become part of history in the making.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

French and Japanese artist duo, K-NARF & SHOKO, plays with photography to transform the ordinary of life into extra-ordinary photographic projects. All their projects are made in house with a Neo-analogue approach directly affiliated to the BRICOLAGE art movement, including a singular photographic development process invented by K-NARF, TAPE-O-GRAPHY. K-NARF & SHOKO met in 2014 and quickly began working together. Although deliberately remaining outside of the contemporary artworld, they have gained international recognition for their projects as well as their unconventional approach to photography, including the support of Yves Klein foundation for more than twenty years.