Statement

Cabinet of Curiosity

There is a museum in London dedicated to Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. Freud's chambers are reproduced there in their original form, with the numerous books and exhumed items he collected being displayed neatly on shelves. Looking at these items from Freud's personal collection, one begins to get a a glimpse into his mind. According to Freud, a psychoanalyst is a person who delves into the hidden psychology of the patient, like an excavator. In this work, I attempted to explore the possibility of representing people's true selves through objects, and the relationship between people, objects, and portraits. For this piece, I used myself as the subject, and photographed myself alongside my everyday items. In addition, it acts as an homage to Manet's portrait of Emile Zola, which depicts the man symbolically through objects.

Profile

Koji

Born in Nagano.
Earned his BA Creative Arts Practice degree from Bath Spa University.
Participated in the group exhibition "Coda" (London OXO Tower Wharf) in 2018 and received the NG Art Creative Residency the same year. Using memories and past (history/tradition/myth/antiques) as subject matters, he collects and connects various materials/media/narrative such as images, photographs, words, disused or lost objects, and deliver a newly layered story poetically.

Jury selection

An ambitious work that, while addressing personal issues of concern, attempts to embrace an archaeological element as the image settles in. I feel that, should you choose yourself as the subject, you would be well-served to clearly communicate the demeanor in which you are being portrayed.

Links

• Instagram：@cothy_trewhella