window-ordered, 2022 - Photo: Kenryou Gu
Kazuto Imura (b. 1990 in Kyoto, Japan; lives and works in Tokyo) is an artist who uses mirrors as a motif and creates works that explore the relationship and history between people and mirrors, based on multifaceted research.
According to Imura, “Only we know our inner self, while only others can see our outer self. Mirror reflections and photographs are representations of appearances, not reality itself”. Inspired by the fact that there is no one who knows both the inside and the outside, he creates works on the theme of showing others mirrors in which he has left traces of himself.
Using a variety of materials and techniques, including optical equipment, non-reflective mirrors, magic mirrors, obsidian, and rotating liquid mirrors, Imura traces the evolution of the relationship between people and mirrors, tracing back in complex ways with issues from prejudice or discrimination based on physical appearance to industrial history, from modern science to archaeological perspectives such as mythology and religious rituals.
Kazuto Imura has exhibited in Japan and China. He graduated with a BFA from Kyoto City University of Arts and received his MFA from Tokyo University of the Arts.