South, London
Aki Sasamoto
Grilled Diagrams
Studio VoltaireThis new site-specific installation by Aki Sasamoto (b. 1980, Kanagawa, Japan) is the artist's first solo institutional exhibition in the UK. Sasamoto produces a major site-specific installation that functions as both a sculptural environment and a performance set. Central to the work is a custom-built, oversized griddle, drawing inspiration from both televised cooking shows and street food carts. In a new series of performances, taking place during the opening and closing weeks of the exhibition, the artist directly activates the installation. Blurring the lines between pre- and post-production, her performances unfold as live acts of drawing or choreography, where the manipulation of ingredients across the griddle's surface suggests a constantly changing composition. Through this new work, Sasamoto develops her exploration of the poetics of everyday actions. Sasamoto's work incisively probes the tension between disorder and control. Her performances, which are often staged as vivid and digressive monologues, weave together fables, anecdotes and autobiographical fragments, inviting her audiences to retune their perceptions of the seemingly mundane. The new installation develops from her observations of incidental activities and daily life – in this case, cooking large quantities of food on outdoor griddles. However, her analytical curiosity in systems and environments materialises in spontaneous experiments that examine the complex interplay between objects, people and their surroundings. Incorporating everyday items and contemporary detritus, her meticulously staged installation functions as a prompt or score for structured improvisation: challenging conventional definitions of sculpture and instead inviting active participation in her unfolding narratives. Lead Programme Supporters: Japan House London Trust, Shane Akeroyd and Foundation Foundation. Programme Supporters: Henry Moore Foundation and The Studio Voltaire Council, with additional support from Bortolami Gallery.