Yuko Mohri

Thursday 05 July (2018)
Artists Peter Fraser and Yuko Mohri discussed their exhibitions with writer and critic Chris Fite-Wassilak.

Peter Fraser (b. 1953, Cardiff, UK) graduated in photography from Manchester Polytechnic University in 1976. In 1982, Fraser began working with a Plaubel Makina camera, which led to an exhibition with William Eggleston at the Arnolfini, Bristol, in 1984. In that year Fraser went on to spend time living and working with Eggleston in the States. Recent solo shows include The Photographers’ Gallery, London (2002); Brancolini Grimaldi, London (2012); Tate St Ives (2013); Real Jardin de Botanico, Madrid (2017). In 2004, he was shortlisted for the Citibank Photography Prize.

Chris Fite-Wassilak is a writer and critic based in London. He is a regular contributor to Apollo, Art Monthly, Art Papers, ArtReview and frieze; his writing has also appeared in Art & Australia, Artforum.com, Flash Art, Monopol, Rhizome and Tate Etc. He is a contributing editor of ArtReview, and co-organiser with artist Anne Tallentire of the event ‘hmn’. His short book of essays, Ha-Ha Crystal (2016) is published by Copy Press.

07 July (2018)
To coincide with Yuko Mohri’s exhibition at Camden Art Centre, a performance with Japanese sound art pioneer Akio Suzuki was presented in Mohri’s installation. The performance took inspiration from Mohri’s background in music and long-standing engagement with the experimental music scene in Japan.

Since the 1960s, sound art pioneer Akio Suzuki has been investigating the acoustic quality of selected locations and creating corresponding topographies. His intensive involvement with the phenomena of pulse and echo led him to develop his own instruments in the 1970s. One of these is the spiral echo instrument Analapos. It consists of a coil spring and two iron cylinders that function as resonating chambers, and is played with the voice or by hand. Starting from the 90s, his soundwalk project, oto-date, which means, respectively, “sound” and “point” in Japanese, finds listening points in the city, and playfully invites the audience to stop and listen carefully at given points on the map. Suzuki has been also active in the improvised music scenes in different continents, and has collaborated with Takehisa Kosugi, Derek Bailey, Steve Lacy, George Lewis, David Toop, Aki Onda, Rie Nakajima, and John Butcher.

Video stills ©Helen Petts

This event was programmed with 33:33 and formed part of MODE – a programme of music, visual art, performance and film curated by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

In partnership with Japan Foundation.

08 September (2018)
A rare performance by the internationally acclaimed composer, pianist and electronic music pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto in collaboration with artist Yuko Mohri.

Responding to Mohri’s site-specific exhibition Voluta at Camden Art Centre, Sakamoto’s
performance took the form of an experimental piano concert amongst Mohri’s installation. Using
a reconfigured antique piano, the performance was inspired by references in Mohri’s work, John Cage
and Nam June Paik.

Sakamoto’s work has spanned vast musical territories, from pioneering electronic music as a member
of Yellow Magic Orchestra, to crafting globally-inspired rock albums, classical compositions, a
stretch of minimal/ambient music collaborations and over thirty film scores including a collaborative
score with Alva Noto for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Academy Award-winning The Revenant, and Yoji
Yamada’s Nagasaki: Memories Of My Son.

Music and sound are central to Mohri’s artistic practice, her involvement with the experimental music
scene in Japan has included previous performances with avant-garde musicians Otomo Yoshihide
and Sakamoto.

This event was programmed with 33:33 and formed part of MODE – a programme of music, visual
art, performance and film curated by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

With special thanks to Norika Sora, Keiko Yoshida and Nayo Higashide.