Opening: Friday 7 November, 18:00–19:00
Annet Gelink Gallery is pleased to present Fig Leaves, a solo presentation by Ai Ozaki, on view in the gallery’s project space, The Bakery. Ai Ozaki is a visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans video, sculpture, text, drawing, and installation. Her work explores the body, everyday life, and the ways in which the body interacts with “the Other” — a concept that, for Ozaki, encompasses not only other people but also all living beings and the self. Observing the limits of understanding between humans, animals, and the body itself, Ozaki investigates the gaps in communication and perception that shape these relationships. Through her practice, she imagines new forms of dialogue with beings and forces that are at once intimately close and fundamentally incomprehensible.
Grounded in these inquiries, Ozaki’s recent research and works revolve around two intertwined themes: 性 (sei: sex, human nature) and 食 (shoku: eating, food, living). These subjects stem from our shared experience of having a body, as well as from her personal history. Growing up with parents who worked in the pixelization of pornographic videos — a process used to obscure genitalia, referred to as “mosaic” in Japan — Ozaki became attuned to a state of seeing and not-seeing. In those censored images, she perceived human figures interacting like animals, revealing a primal rhythm that connects all living things.
Everyday life forms the foundation of Ozaki’s creative process: cooking, dead insects on the balcony, conversations with friends, and shared domestic experiences all become materials for reflection and creation. These personal fragments connect to broader human histories, to myths, symbols, and images that have resonated across time and culture. Her practice considers how intimate experiences and bodily realities can be shared with others, and how the images generated from daily life evolve and expand across different temporal and cultural contexts.
Torso and Fig Leaves (both 2025) reflect Ozaki’s ongoing research into the concept of “mosaic,” explored through the historical motif of fig leaves. Drawing from personal and cultural references, the works investigate themes of concealment, fragmentation, and perception. For Ozaki, “mosaic” signifies both the act of hiding or blurring — rooted in the pixelation she witnessed in her childhood — and the assembly of fragments into a unified whole. This duality lies at the heart of Torso and Fig Leaves: surfaces that both conceal and reveal, where perception oscillates between clarity and obscurity.
