ART-PRESENTATION: Kensaku Kakimoto-Transformation

Kensaku Kakimoto is a cinematographer, a producer of numerous films as well as a video artist. He has also received much acclaim in the field of contemporary art. Many of Kakimoto’s film works are condensed with aspects in seemingly inexpressible ways from the subject’s body temperature and heat, the atmosphere and climate that drifts in its surroundings, to the notion of time.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: galley ON THE HILL Archive

The exhibition “Transformation“ features new works of filmmaker and photographer Kensaku Kakimoto, who mainly works on commercial films and music videos. This exhibition is the first emergence of a new project called “Time Tunnel”, a fresh series of works derived from Kensaku Kakimoto’s pre-pandemic work, including over a thousand of his own photographs and images, selected texts related to themes in his main work, and incidences, events and international movements that occurred during the pandemic. These were all studied and reprocessed photographically using AI. In addition, the exhibition also features a new series “Trimming” which takes everyday events and presents a new viewpoint through a fresh design overhaul, redefining them in high resolution and adjusting their focus; and also feature the “TRANSLATOR” series in addition, previously exhibited in 2016 at Hillside Forum and in 2017 at Taka Ishii Gallery, New York. In his dynamic film directions, Kensaku Kakimoto intricately presents fragments of life and the delicacy of subtle emotion creating a certain fluctuation that gives rise to an overwhelming sense of beauty and powerfulness. He has produced feature length film “COLORS” in 2005, later “UGLY” and “LIGHT UP NIPPON” in 2012. In contrast, as a photographer Kakimoto documents the fragments of the world that he unconsciously witnesses before his eyes.  For the series “TRANSLATOR”, Kakimoto questions the boundary between the virtual verses reality that is conveyed, capturing and visualizing the sense of temperature that is invisible to the naked eye. In 2016 Kakimoto participating in Tokyo Art Photo fair. He continues to work extensively across various different genres, transcending the boundary between film and photography. Kakimoto is the recipient of  the 2016 ACC Grand Prix, in addition to numerous awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, One Show Design, London International Awards, New York Festivals, AD STARS, Spikes Asia, ADFEST, and the Adobe WW Sales Conference Film Festival.

Photo: Kensaku Kakimoto, +34-006 Teruel, 2018, giclee print mounted on aluminum, 150 × 225cm (from the TRANSLATOR series, Location: Teruel, Spain), © Kensaku Kakimoto, Courtesy the artist and galley ON THE HILL

Info: galley ON THE HILL, Hillside Terrace F Building 1F, 18-8 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Duration: 9-24/1/2021, Days & Hours: Daily 11:00-19:00, www.galleryonthehill.com