The Story of S: Tokyo Rumando

From Tokyo to Essen: As part of the exhibition format 6 ½ Weeks, Museum Folkwang presents the young multimedia artist Tokyo Rumando. The Story of S is the first institutional solo exhibition of the Japanese artist in Germany. On Friday, February 7, 2020, the opening event will take place at 6:30pm in the presence of the artist.

Tokyo Rumando (*1980) takes on a range of roles in her series The Story of S. In an act of female empowerment, she performs as a photographer, author, make-up artist, and model all at the same time, on both sides of the camera. Taking up the radical visual language of Japanese photography of the 1960s and 1970s, the artist develops a playful, contemporary game of desire and shifting identities. Tokyo Rumando is regarded as one of the most experimental young female artists in Japanese photography, and her work can now be explored in a solo exhibition for the first time in Europe.

The photographs of The Story of S show the artist at the moment of transformation. Leaving behind the frantic hustle of the streets of Tokyo and the nocturnal allure of neon signs and billboards, Tokyo Rumando withdraws into the seclusion of her apartment and begins an intense game of role-play. Confident and conscious of the viewer’s gaze, she appears before the camera naked or dressed, disguised with a mask or make-up. In terms of motifs, some of the high-contrast, jet-black photographs are reminiscent of works by Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki, for whom she also posed a few years ago.

In 2005, the artist turned the tables, transforming herself from a photographic object to a subject, taking the narrative into her own hands. In the 26-part video A-Z, Tokyo Rumando presents herself in short sequences as a geisha, Marilyn Monroe, or a vamp. Against a dark background, the few props are set in a tightly framed setting. A dressing table with illuminated mirror, a chair, and a fan constitute the backdrop to her transformations. Each portrayal presents a new version that conceals the true identity of the protagonist.

Tokyo Rumando has had solo exhibitions at Zen Foto Gallery (Tokyo, 2012), Taka Ishii Gallery (Paris, 2016) and Ibasho Gallery (Antwerp, 2018). Tokyo Rumando’s picture series Orphée was featured in the exhibition Performing for the Camera at the Tate Modern (London 2016).

With its short turn-around times and quick planning, the exhibition format 6 ½ Weeks introduces young artists in a spontanous and dynamic fashion. 6 ½ Weeks is funded by Stiftung Kunst, Kultur und Soziales der Sparda-Bank West.

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Press contact
Yvonne Daenekamp, T +49 201 8845 160 / yvonne.daenekamp@museum-folkwang.essen.de