Media Release

Kiki Ando: Highest Mountain And Deepest Bay
Exhibition

The Japan Foundation, Sydney is proud to announce Kiki Ando: Highest Mountain and Deepest Bay, a solo exhibition by Kiki Ando, a contemporary Japanese artist based in Melbourne, on display at The Japan Foundation Gallery from July 9 to September 25, 2021. This exhibition includes over 60 works reflecting Ando’s artistic archive and imaginative world, spanning wearable paper art, hand-built ceramic characters, animation and live performance.

Born and raised in Japan, Ando’s work is deeply embedded in Japanese artistic practices like Butoh dance, hand-built ceramics and Boro and Kamiko fashion practices, along with her experiences abroad. Included in the exhibition is a new animation entitled Rare Deep Sea Fish Develop My Unique Personality, along with ceramic installations made over a nine-year period in Victoria, and wearable artworks created by Ando in response to the fashion industry’s use of environmentally unsustainable and restrictive materials.

Kiki Ando will travel from Melbourne to Sydney to perform at the exhibition opening reception on July 9 with the musical accompaniment of Ai Yamamoto, and will conduct a paper costume workshop for kids on July 10.

EXHIBITION

Kiki Ando: Highest Mountain and Deepest Bay

July 9 – September 25, 2021
Held at The Japan Foundation Gallery

Explore Japanese artist Kiki Ando’s imaginative world in this solo exhibition featuring over 60 works including wearable paper art, hand-built ceramic characters, animation and live performance.

EXHIBITION

Opening Reception & Live Performance

July 9, 6pm-8pm (opening address and performance at 6:30pm)
Held at The Japan Foundation, Sydney

Join us on July 9 for an opening reception including a live performance by Kiki Ando with musical accompaniment by Ai Yamamoto.

WORKSHOP

PAPER COSTUME MAKING FOR KIDS

July 10, 10am-11:30am
Held at The Japan Foundation, Sydney

Learn how to make a fun costume entirely out of upcycled paper with Kiki Ando! In this workshop, Ando will instruct kids on how to transform materials such as newspapers into wearable artworks. This workshop will allow kids to explore their creativity and learn to give new meaning to the things around them. At the end, participants will be able to take their completed costumes home.

This workshop is suitable for children ages 6-13.

FILM SCREENINGS

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind – July 28, 6:30pm-8:26pm
Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams – August 17, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Paprika – September 1, 6:30pm-8pm
Held at Palace Cinemas Central

Enjoy three films curated by Kiki Ando herself in this special series. From Studio Ghibli’s environmental classic Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind to the magical vignettes in Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams and finally Paprika, the final feature-length animated film by acclaimed animator Satoshi Kon, each film reflects Ando’s aesthetic and the various influences on her practice.

CATALOGUE LAUNCH

August 11, 6:30pm-8pm
Held at The Japan Foundation, Sydney and the JPF Sydney Facebook page

Celebrate the launch of the Kiki Ando: Highest Mountain and Deepest Bay online catalogue with a talk event featuring textile researcher and catalogue contributor Dr Ricarda Bigolin. In her talk, Dr Bigolin will present an overview of the outlier practices between fashion, art and design, particularly in the context of performance, where bodies influence materials to behave and act intuitively, rather than adhering to institutionalised visual arts and design disciplines.

ABOUT KIKI ANDO

Kiki Ando was born in Numazu City, Japan and works across textile, ceramics, performance and design. In 2003 Ando moved from Japan to Melbourne, where she resides today. Ando graduated from the Melbourne School of Fashion while living and working at the art studio and gallery, The Foundry. In 2007, Ando moved to Berlin to explore textiles and music. While in Berlin, Ando also worked collaboratively with electronic pop band Private Posh Club.

Ando returned to Melbourne in 2009 and in 2012, went on to design costumes for dance performance DasSHOKU SHAKE!, which toured Australia and Japan. In 2015, Ando worked as co-director and puppet and prop designer on the film project Studio 3 in East Timor. Ando continues to explore multi-disciplinary artistic forms, with a particular focus on ceramics, costume design and Butoh performance. She performs regularly in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

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