KEN MATSUBARA

Matsubara’s work addresses memories and histories to which we can all relate, regardless of our backgrounds, statuses or age. He incorporates photographs, videos, object installations, and collages to bring forth the past and to converse with future generations. The artist sees human consciousness as recollections of the same ancient knowledge that transcends the individual, passed down through generations and across peoples, at a microcosmic level. By recollecting shared memories, Matsubara believes that we can overcome individuality.

Characteristic elements that are present throughout the artist’s portfolio are problematic and sorrowful events in our collective memories. In The Sleeping Water - Mekong Delta (2012), for example, the artist mourns the loss of children to countless wars throughout human history, and attempts to relate such memories for posterity through a black and white video of children floating in the Mekong on endless replay inside a little glass dome. In Winter Dreams - Cloud (2011), he reproduces the Hiroshima mushroom cloud as a video inside a shadow box. The atomic puff suddenly appears, grows, and dissipates, much like our remembrances of tragedies past. Matsubara commemorates such mournful histories by delivering earnest messages in neat, beautiful packages, resembling antique mementos.

Repetition and recollection are also prevalent themes in Matsubara’s work, which are deeply rooted in his idea of memory. The artist recognizes that experiences and memories are repetitive. Just as areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 suffered similar disasters in the past, we are surrounded by familiar landscapes that have experienced great transformations. In his Repetition Book (2014) series, Matsubara starts with old snapshots that he has found. He films scenes of the same locations, and presents the videos on open book pages. The loose associations between scenes from the past and their present appearances reveal both the changes that occur around us constantly, as well as the unchanging familiarity of memories. This clear fluctuation between the past and the present also dictates the artist’s medium. Matsubara relies on videos and motion images to illustrate repetition and to depict the volatile and fluid nature of recollections.

Text by Makiko Arima