Kazuto Imura talks about the world of "The Mirror That Doesn't Reflect Myself

The works by Kazuto Imura on view in the current exhibition "Goro Murayama x Kazuto Imura: Proliferating Image" are centered on mirrors, which the artist has been pursuing. Focusing on the long history of the transition of the relationship between mirrors and humans, the artist talked about his worldview in front of his works, in which he continues to embody various ideas one step ahead of the history of the relationship between mirrors and humans.

"wall-ordered ellipsoid', "2022, glass mirror, LED, frame 342 x 662 x 148 mm

Imura: I started making mirrors in my third year of undergraduate school, so it's been eight years now. The first work I made was this series hanging on the wall there, but at that time, I was still focused on the use of mirrors. Last year, I held my first solo exhibition at the Mitsukoshi Contemporary Art in Nihonbashi, and at that time, I looked back at my past works and created a series of mirror works to explore the mirror in depth.

Mirrors were first created on the surface of water, then artificially created by polishing obsidian, then metallized or painted on glass, and so on. The way people interact with mirrors has changed. At first they were more mystical, but then they became something to look at oneself, and now they are incorporated into optical systems, and I think the way people interact with mirrors is changing.
I am currently working on the theme of "a mirror that does not reflect you," and I am exploring how the way we deal with people has changed along with the transition of materials.

"Invisible layer creature #4," 2022, ABS board and paint, 666 x 666 x 15 mm.

This work is based on the motif of a magic mirror. The mechanism of a magic mirror is almost the same as that of a bronze mirror, but a bronze mirror made of metal usually becomes mirror-like after a few hours of polishing. If you continue to polish the same surface, the pressure applied will differ depending on the unevenness of the pattern on the back of the copper mirror, so the pattern on the back will reflect the light and the image will be reflected. The motif of this circular work is based on this method of production. This circular work is inspired by that method of production. Just like oil looks rainbow-colored, minute irregularities are formed and colors emerge. (Pointing to an image that fell to the floor) When light is reflected, this kind of pattern also appears. During past commissions, we have had this work pinpointed and had the statue on the floor.

"Mirror in the rough 5650g", 2022, aluminum deposition on glass, 160 x 200 x 200mm

This work is made of a block of glass.
A glass mirror is made by vapor-depositing metal onto the back of a sheet of glass, so you are looking at a mirror through the glass. However, the thickness of 3 or 5 millimeters is not easy to feel in everyday life, and the glass is distorted and has a three-dimensional feel, so the reflections are very complex. This is an example of a "mirror that does not reflect you. The glass itself was in a molten state in a crucible for a long time, but when the fire was turned off after the work was finished, the temperature difference caused the glass to break, resulting in this distorted shape.

I enjoy making stone tools, so I found a member of a stone tool circle who was making stone tools from the bottom of a glass jar. I thought that if I had a block of glass, I could make a larger stone tool, so I went to a glass studio and found a piece of glass left as scrap material that had an interesting shape by itself. I took a hint from this and created this work, "self portrait #74," which is a close-up of this piece.

"self portrait #74" 2021 UV print on aluminum mirror, 400 x 600 x 8mm

I took a self-portrait of myself in a mirror that does not reflect me. The photo itself is printed on the mirror, and the clasp is made of metal fittings for mirrors. So, the act of taking a picture of a mirror and printing it on the mirror. I printed on the mirror because I thought that the reflection of others might be a way to erase my existence as a self-portrait in which I am not reflected.

"wall-ordered horizon'," 2022, glass mirror, LED, frame, 482 x 482 x 98 mm

This is the first series of mirrors I created, and I think the quality of the work has improved considerably over the past eight years. The mirror, which is a combination of a convex surface and a faceted surface, creates two different sequences of numbers on the screen through reflections.

This is charged with a type C battery, but the previous work (in the next gallery) could not be used while charging, but this one uses a battery for charging equipment so that it glows while charging. When the electricity is turned off, it reverts back to a mirror.

"wall-ordered ellipsoid'," 2022, glass mirror, LED, frame 342 x 662 x 148 mm
(This is a work that does not show itself at all when the room is dark.)

"spherical mirage forest" 2022"
acrylic mirror, glass mirror, stainless steel mirror, LED, frame, 2022
300 x 300 x 152mm

When viewed from the front, this work is the opposite of the "wall-ordered" work described above, with a spherical image floating in front of the mirror.

I have mirrors of various sizes, materials, and shapes in my studio, and I was experimenting with them while imagining another phenomenon,
I was experimenting with these mirrors, imagining different phenomena, and for a brief moment, something suddenly appeared and I wondered what it was, and while observing it, I designed the entire piece to stabilize the image in its best condition.

I always use landscapes photographed with a 360-degree camera as motifs. The landscape that surrounds the viewer is then viewed as a spherical hologram.

He is also a mirror geek, so he plays and experiments with various mirrors in his collection, expanding them based on the phenomena that occur there.


The exhibition will be open until June 12 (Sun.). Please come and see the exhibition.