Keita Morita
(*1992 Aichi, Japan)
Currently lives and works in Bremen and Düsseldorf, Germany. After studying sculpture in Japan, he moved his base of work to Germany in 2019.
Keita Morita's participation in the exhibition (excerpt) is, for example, »Ghost Scharf Silence«, 2023, Oberbilker Allee 57, Düsseldorf [G]; »Was die Leere verbindet zwischen Verbindungen & Trennung«, 2022, From the A, Bremen [G]; »European Media Art Festival«, 2022, Haus der Jugend, Osnabrück [G]; »Zeitgenössische Stadtarchäologie«, 2021, Hiroyuki Sugihara Studio, Berlin, [S]; »Odyssey«, 2017, Gallery SHIMIZU, Kanagawa, Japan [S]; and »1/206«, 2016, Gallery K, Tokyo, Japan [S].
There is also an exhibition that he organized, »(Irgendein)Raum«, 2022 at WERFT 77, Kunst im Hafen, Düsseldorf [G].
In 2022, he participated in the artist-in-residency program at Künstlerstadt Kalbe. Exhibition of the results of the artist-in-residence program »8. Internationaler Wintercampus« Galerie DIE 8, Kalbe [G].
Ein Sandkorn in der Wüste, 2023
29,7 x 21 cm; Lentikulardruck;
Abzug: 2/2 + 2AP
Düsseldorf, Nr. 18 / 19 / 20 / 32 / 33, 2021
30 x 20 x 12 cm;
Gips, Kunststoffbehälter, Satinstoff, Polyurethanschwamm, Klebefolie
Fotos: Mateusz Dworczyk & NAK-Photo-Simon Vogel
Artist's Statement Keita
What is reality? What is existence? Is it the state of existence here and now? It is impossible to express it clearly in words. It is vague like smoke that mixes with the air and disappears with time. But surely it was there.
By "reality" I mean a moment in time. It is the environment and circumstances surrounding that moment. The concept of "reality" is one that I explore because of its ambiguity and lack of material form. We are aware of its existence, but we are unable to give a clear image of what it is. This is because the most important characteristic of "reality" is that it does not exist in material form and cannot be preserved. This is similar to the concept of "soul". It is not scientifically defined where it is in the body, but it is present to the senses. A lot of my work is performative. In my creative process, the performative act is a deliberate emphasis and recognition of my own actual presence and is one of the key materials in the formation of my work. I see art as a means of visually and sensually recognizing a "reality" that does not exist in material form, but exists under certain circumstances.
"Existence" is another important theme. Among all the people in the world, I am just one among many. But I have an identity, Keita Morita. But I am not talking about the meaning of existence, but about the way existence is. It is the difference in consciousness between sitting in the desert and looking at the landscape, or holding a grain of sand in the desert. Identity is not something that belongs only to humans, but also to objects. Even a mass-produced object can acquire its own identity and become original through the process of individual ownership and use.
My work is neutral; it is not meant to tell the viewer anything about myself, but to provide an opportunity to pursue "individual ways of being". I am exploring how the concept of "reality" is treated in performative acts, and an awareness of "being" as an individual and as a group.