Kei Ito

Lives and works in Baltimore, MD, USA

Artist statement

I am a US-based photographer and installation artist who graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art (’16) with an MFA in Photography, following my BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology (‘14). I have recently received an O-1 Visa, allowing me to pursue my artistic career in the US. Most of my projects are haunted by my family’s history. Specifically, my grandfather’s experience of the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. My grandfather’s experience and my own are intertwined deeply within my artistic practice. Looking back to the past, I expand upon the dialogue revolving around nuclear matters in present times. Before his passing, my grandfather told me the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima “...was like hundreds of suns lighting up the sky.” These words stayed with me for a long time. Drawing upon my grandfather’s words, I mainly use the techniques of camera-less photography, exposing light sensitive material to sunlight, often timing the exposures with my breath. Generally these sun-fused, x-ray like prints, are paired with symbolically charged objects such as a burnt dictionary or burnt wood to create an experiential installation. My works serve as mementos of my heritage, and reflects my experience of having two homes; Japan and America. My work serves as a prayer, and a flashing siren of a hundred suns to warn the present of the mistakes of the past.

Artwork