June 24 to July 16, 2022 – On-site
Tuesday – Saturday 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Curator: Jesse Cumming
Co-presented as part of the Images 2022 Slow edition festival
In partnership with the Japan Foundation in Toronto
As the magic of patriarchy has struck the world again this week, we proudly welcome the exhibition curated by Jesse Cumming as part of our annual partnership with the Images Festival: Sensual Life: The Films and Videos of Kyoko Michishita .
« Borrowing its title from her 1980 essay collection, in which she reflected on the state of contemporary feminism in her home country of Japan, “Sensual Life: The Films and Videos of Kyoko Michishita” is the first North American exhibition dedicated to the artist, writer, and translator.
An early adopter of video in Japan—and member of the trailblazing collective Video Hiroba, alongside other luminaries like Fujiko Nakaya, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, and Toshio Matsumoto—Michishita began her career with productions that wed her interest in formal experimentation and the technology’s potential for new forms of communication with her long-held investment in feminism. »
— Jesse Cumming
This exhibition features new digital restorations courtesy of Vtape that have been showcased in Le Labo space by the festival’s director of programming Jaclyn Quaresma. All videos are subtitled in French and English thanks to a collaborative effort between Images Festival and Le Labo.
This installation engages the viewer directly in the exploration and critical reflection of our society and the place that is reserved for women. Simone de Beauvoir, whom Kyoko Michishita sites in her interview, was right when she said: « Never forget that it will only take a political, economic or religious crisis for women’s rights to be called into question. These rights are never taken for granted. You will have to remain vigilant throughout your lives. »
Kyoko Michishita is a Japanese artist, writer, and translator. Her video Being Women in Japan: Liberation within My Family (1973-74) is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (New York), and her other films and videos have been screened at many festivals, galleries, and museums across Japan and internationally.
Jesse Cumming is a curator and writer. Graduated with M.A. at York University (Toronto) in 2017. Since 2016, he has served as a Programming Associate for the Wavelengths section of the Toronto International Film Festival. His writing has appeared in Cinema Scope, The Brooklyn Rail, Canadian Art, Prefix Photo, MUBI Notebook, Filmmaker, and more. He presently sits on the steering committee of the Toronto Film & Media Seminar and is a founding collective member of MICE Magazine, a web and print publication dedicated to Moving Image Culture, Etc.